Former Colfax man charged with three additional felonies related to assault of a child

By LeAnn R. Ralph

MENOMONIE  —  A 66-year-old former Colfax man has been charged with three additional felonies related to the sexual assault of a child alleged to have occurred in Colfax.

Elmer C. Shilts Jr., currently of Knapp, appeared in Dunn County Circuit Court on October 12 with his attorney, Kerry Kelm, on one felony count of first degree child sexual assault and two felony counts of exposing genitals to a child.

In February of this year, Shilts made an initial appearance in Dunn County Circuit Court on three felony counts of first degree child sexual assault and one felony count of exposing genitals to a child.

In the first case, the alleged victim was seven years old at the time, and in the second case, the alleged victim was between the ages of five and seven at the time.

The assaults allegedly took place at an apartment building in Colfax, at the Colfax fairgrounds and in a car parked at a Menomonie restaurant.

According to the criminal complaint, during interviews regarding the first case with a social worker, former Colfax Police Chief Pete Gehring and an officer with the Menomonie police department, Shilts alternated between denying that anything had happened, that it was not true and he would “deny it until the day he died” and saying he could not remember if anything had happened, but if something did happen, he was sorry — and admitting that during one incident he had asked the girl if he could touch her vagina and then had masturbated.

According to online court records, during an August court hearing, Judge Smeltzer granted a continuance in the first case to allow time for evaluation of Shilts because there were concerns about his mental health.

In the second case, Shilts is alleged to have assaulted another child between May of 2012 and April of 2014 in the Village of Colfax.

According to the criminal complaint, Colfax Police Chief William Anderson received a written statement from the child’s mother in February of this year.

Shilts had come up in a conversation, and the girl had asked if he was dead.

The mother had explained that he was not dead but that he was in trouble for touching a young girl’s private area.

According to the mother, the child’s face dropped, and she said, “Mommy, I should have told you something a long time ago.”

When the mother asked about what she should have been told, the little girl said, “He did that to me, too.”

The little girl went on to say that Shilts had told her not to tell her mom or dad, her friends or anyone else, according to the complaint.

A preliminary hearing for the second case is scheduled in Dunn County Circuit Court December 11.

According to online court records, Shilts has been ordered not to have any contact with children under the age of 18.