A 25-year-old Mentone man has admitted to molesting a 4-year-old boy in the bathroom of the Potawatomi Inn over the weekend at Pokagon State Park, according to Steuben County authorities.
About 4:15 p.m. Saturday, deputies were called to the Potawatomi Inn, a hotel on Lake James, and when they arrived, adults were detaining David John Elleneberger, according to the Steuben County Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies learned that Elleneberger molested the child in a restroom near the hotel’s indoor swimming pool, the sheriff’s department said.
Jeremy Musser, Steuben County’s chief deputy prosecutor, said the 4-year-old boy complained to adults and then authorities were notified. Musser said Elleneberger was not an employee of the hotel and that he did not have a record of prior sex offenses.
“The 4-year-old victim was from another state, vacationing with family and did not know the suspect at all,” the sheriff’s department said.
Deputies took Elleneberger to the sheriff’s office, and during interviews, he admitted to molesting the child, the sheriff’s department said.
Elleneberger was charged with child molestation Monday and posted a $100,000 bond.
The investigation has been turned over to Indiana conservation officers and the Steuben County Prosecutor’s Office.