Marion Man Preliminarily Charged for Sexual Remarks

MARION, Ind. — A man has been preliminarily charged with child solicitation after making sexual remarks to a child.

According to court documents, Edwin Elkins Jr. was accused of child solicitation in Aug. 2025, after telling a victim “I am going to f*** you.”

Officers arrived on-scene and spoke with the mother, who stated she was on her back patio when she noticed a man approach her child from behind. According to court documents, the mother stated she could hear the man make several sexual remarks to her child and when she told him to stop, he shouted profanities at her.

The victim told officers that when she told the man she was underage, he responded by asking for her number and made additional inappropriate comments. The victim also reported in court documents that the man had asked if she was either 15 or 16-years-old.

It was also detailed in the reporting that the man was trying to spit at the victim from behind.

The victim described the suspect as a man with a neck brace, leading officers to identify him as Elkins. Elkins had a prior incident with police officers that day and was seen wearing a neck brace at the time.

According to court documents, Elkins was questioned by officers after the incident, and he reported he was just trying to flirt with what he thought was a 21-year-old.

When asked if Elkins was aware of the victim’s age, he claimed he did not know until the mother told him from the balcony.

The Grant County Prosecutor’s Office issued a warrant for Elkins’ arrest and he was then placed on a $20,000 bond.

He faces a level 5 Felony of Child Solicitation and has a pre-trial conference scheduled for May. 21, according to court records.