Metro-east man accused of assaulting, impregnating teen faces felony charges

A Granite City man accused of sexually assaulting and impregnating an 16-year-old told law enforcement the now 8-month-old child is named after him.

“It’s not like I raped that girl” he told them, according to court records.

Eli L. Winters, 26, was taken into custody this month during an unrelated traffic stop. Police found the teen with Winters while she was considered a missing and endangered 17-year-old, according to a petition prosecutors filed to keep him detained untiil trial.

Winters is charged with five felony offenses in Madison County Circuit Court: aggravated criminal sexual assault, a Class X felony; criminal sexual assault, a Class 1 felony; two Class X counts of child sexual abuse material; and one Class 1 count of child sexual abuse material.

The charges allege Winters sexually assaulted the teen in December 2024 and recorded the abuse in videos and a photo.

Winters told police he and the girl’s “relationship” lasted months. He said they had sex in August 2024 and that he learned she was 16 a few weeks before Christmas 2024, court records state. Multiple individuals knew or suspected he was the father of the teen’s child.

Winters waived his right to a pretrial detention hearing and remains in custody at the Madison County Jail. His preliminary hearing is set for 8:30 a.m. Friday, May 29, at the jail, court records show.