WAUPACA, WI (WSAU) — A man accused of kidnapping a teenage girl and sending a ransom to her mother has pleaded ‘not guilty’.
Elijah Kerrigan, 35, pleaded ‘not guilty’ to all eleven charges for a January 8th incident where he sent a ransom text to a Shawano teenager’s mother after kidnapping her. He is facing charges of kidnapping, 1st-degree child sexual assault, child enticement, possession of child pornography, and manufacturing and delivering methamphetamines, among other misdemeanor charges.
Police who were investigating the disappearance of the teenager talked to friends who said she could be with Kerrigan as Kerrigan knew the teenager before the kidnapping. The victim said that the had been like a “father figure” to her.
Investigators then learned police had been called to Kerrigan’s motel room for an odor of marijuana. Police went to the motel on the 8th where staff identified the girl. When entering the room, police found the girl hiding under the bed.
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Kerrigan is still being held on a $50,000 cash bond.
