Wisconsin man charged with assaulting missing Missouri girl

The Associated Press
November 14, 2020 at 12:20AM

WAUKESHA, Wis. — Wisconsin prosecutors have charged a 19-year-old Oconomowoc man with sexually assaulting a Missouri girl who went missing in September.

Nathan Nehs was charged Nov. 6 in Waukesha County with one felony count of repeated sexual assault of a child.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Friday that the criminal complaint states that Nehs met the girl about three years ago through an online gaming platform. He was 17 at the time; she was 11.

According to the complaint, Nehs drove to Missouri on Sept. 16 to pick up the girl and take her back to his parents' house in Oconomowoc. They arrived at the house on Sept. 17 but the complaint says his parents didn't know she was there until sometime between Sept. 20 and early October. Nehs allegedly told them he was dating her and she told them that she was 16 and lived in the area.

Nehs held her captive in his bedroom and kept her in a closet for two weeks, according to the complaint. Text messages from the girl's electronic devices indicate she was also held captive in a car trunk; she demanded in multiple messages to Nehs on Sept. 20 that he let her out of the trunk.

He sexually assaulted her 24 times, according to the complaint.

The Journal Sentinel reported Nehs' cash bond has been set at $50,000. His attorney, Leah Thomas, didn't immediately respond to messages after hours Friday.

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