Jury selection got underway Tuesday in Lehigh County for Kevin Esterly, 53, of Whitehall Township, who is accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a girl between the summer of 2015 and March 2018. Prosecutors allege a yearslong pattern of abuse that began when the girl was in her early teens and continued through 2018. A judge denied defense attempts to disqualify the Lehigh County district attorney and to throw out a new indictment, clearing the way for jury selection to proceed Tuesday.
According to NBC10 Philadelphia, Esterly faces charges that include rape, two counts of statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault of a person less than 13 years of age, and endangering the welfare of children. NBC10 reports the alleged victim told police she first met Esterly when she was 8 years old and that the assaults began when she was 13. The outlet also reports Esterly filed a pretrial motion on March 2 seeking to remove the prosecutor and dismiss the charges, but the judge rejected those requests and jurors were empaneled the following day.
Arrest, Extradition and New Indictment
Lehigh Valley Press reports Esterly was arrested in West Virginia on June 11, 2025, after two police pursuits, then transported back to Pennsylvania on the new counts. Prosecutors say the current indictment stems from a report filed with Allentown police on Feb. 21, 2025, alleging repeated assaults between the summer of 2015 and March 2018. Investigators have identified Trooper Taylor Dietrich and Allentown detective Suzanne Toth as lead investigators on the case and said Chief Deputy District Attorney Sara A. Moyer is assigned as the prosecutor.
2018 Mexico Trip Still Part of the Record
Federal agents located Esterly in 2018 with a 16-year-old girl in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and he later entered a plea in that earlier case, according to contemporaneous coverage. Reporting from CBS Philadelphia shows that the 2018 episode resulted in a corruption of minors plea that resolved some of the counts tied to the Mexico trip. Prosecutors in the current Lehigh County case say the allegations now before the court involve a broader pattern of alleged abuse that reaches back to the girl’s middle school years.
What the Charges Could Mean
Under Pennsylvania law, rape and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse are felony offenses that carry lengthy potential prison terms and statutory sentence enhancements when the victim is a minor, according to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The state criminal code and the sentencing statute for offenses against infant persons set out mandatory minimums and heightened penalties for crimes against young victims, which prosecutors may seek to apply if there is a conviction. Those potential penalties help explain the close attention the case is receiving from both local prosecutors and the surrounding community.
With a jury now seated, attorneys are expected to move into witness selection and opening statements in the coming days. Court filings reflect that the defense motions were denied and jury empaneling went forward. The Lehigh County District Attorney's Office did not immediately offer further comment, and a defense representative had no public comment as of Tuesday, according to NBC10 Philadelphia. The case remains an active criminal matter, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
