Man Accused of Arranging Craigslist Date With Teen Met By Detective Instead

Caption: Kurt Ellinghausen, 47, of Glen Ellyn, in his police booking photo. | DuPage County Sheriff

A Glen Ellyn man who thought he had arranged a date with a 16-year-old boy on Craigslist was met instead by a detective at a pre-arranged meeting spot, DuPage County Sheriff John Zaruba announced.

Kurt Ellinghausen, 47, of the 000 block of Forest Hill Drive in Glen Ellyn, was arrested Tuesday evening and charged with indecent solicitation of a child and grooming. Both are class 3 and class 4 felonies, respectively.

Bail was set at $100,000 for Ellinghausen, who appeared before Judge Elizabeth Sexton at the Wheaton Courthouse on Wednesday.

Prosecutors had originally asked for $300,000 bail, said Paul Darrah, spokesman for the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Investigators received a tip that Ellinghausen had allegedly posted an ad on Craigslist looking for a high school boy to hook up with.

An investigation was initiated with a Sheriff’s Office detective posing as a 16-year-old boy. The detective began conversing with Ellinghausen over the Internet and a meeting was set up, according to the charges.

Ellinghausen was met by an undercover detective posing a high school student and was taken into custody at the meeting place, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The Glen Ellyn man is being held at the DuPage County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bond. Ellinghausen was also ordered not to have contact with anyone under 18 and must stay off the Internet as a condition of release.