Charges: Teen Threatened With Gun, Strangled in Sexual Assault at Rochester Hotel
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A Rochester man is facing a long list of felony charges in connection to an alleged rape and assault of a teenage girl under the age of 16.
The criminal complaint says Rochester Police initiated an investigation on Dec. 17 after the young girl reported being raped and assaulted on Dec. 15. The victim had a cut on her lip and bruises on her leg.
The teen said her assailant was a man who is a “father figure to her boyfriend. The charges identify the girl’s attacker as 31-year-old Eric Kelly Danielson Jr.
The teen said she had gotten into an argument with her boyfriend and asked Danielson to come pick her up. She said Danielson, who had previously touched her and expressed a desire to have sex with her, picked her up and said they needed to “get something done” before seeing her boyfriend, a remark the young girl took as sexual in nature, the complaint says.
She said Danielson drove them to a hotel in southern Rochester where she said she smoked methamphetamine and ingested a blue pill Danielson told her was Percocet. Danielson offered her the drugs after she refused 10-15 requests from Danielson for the two to have sex, the charges say.
The teen told police she at one point lost consciousness but came to as Danielson was moving her to the bed where she said he tied her up with a draw sting and raped her. She also said Danielson strangled her with a chain, bit her lips shut and struck her all over her body during the alleged sexual assault, according to the complaint.
She said Danielson then pointed a gun at her after the alleged rape and assault and told her he would kill her, her boyfriend and her family if she reported the incident. He also told her he had a picture of her naked and that he would distribute the photo if she reported the attack, the charges say.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, resources are available for help. Visit the RAINN website (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network) or dial 800-656-HOPE (800-656-4673).
The teen told her boyfriend about the alleged rape and assault. The couple then disclosed the incident to Danielson’s girlfriend, identified in the complaint as 40-year-old Kristi Noel Ebner, who responded by threatening to kill herself if the victim reported the incident.
Law enforcement interviewed the victim’s boyfriend who described a phone call in which said Danielson threatened to kill him and the young girl if they went to the police.
Danielson was taken into custody on Dec. 20. Police executed a search warrant at Danielson’s hotel room and found a rifle with a scratched off serial number and other items the victim described seeing in the room during the alleged assault and rape, the court document says.
Officers also located an electronic incapacitation device in Danielson’s vehicle. Danielson is prohibited from possessing a gun and the device due to a 2011 felony burglary conviction in Wisconsin, according to the charges.
Danielson was arraigned Friday on the following charges:
- Two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct
- Three counts of tampering with a witness
- Second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon
- Two counts of felon in possession of a firearm
- Use of a firearm with an altered serial number
An Olmsted County judge set Danielson’s bail at $1 million without conditions. Ebner was also arraigned Friday on a felony charge of first-degree witness tampering.
She was released without bail but with conditions. Danielson and Ebner are due back in court next month.
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