A Lehigh Valley man who drew national attention in 2018 for fleeing to Mexico with a 16‑year‑old girl has lost his latest attempt to remove the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office from his case.
Kevin Esterly, 52, of Whitehall, had sought to bar the office from prosecuting the sexual‑assault charges he still faces. His request to remove the DA’s office as prosecutor in the case was declined, the office told 69 News.
A Lehigh County judge also denied Esterly’s motion on Monday to have the new charges against him thrown out, clearing the way for his jury trial to begin this week, according to the DA’s Office.
Authorities say jury selection for this case was moved from Monday to Tuesday at 1:30 p.m.
Photo of Kevin Esterly from 2018
The woman he’s accused of abusing for years says she was 8 when they first met. He was her best friends’ stepfather, and the victim ended up spending a lot of time at the Esterly home. She claims Esterly threatened to hurt her best friend, his own stepdaughter, if she told anyone about the abuse.
In 2018, Esterly was convicted of taking the victim to Mexico without her parents’ consent. In an interview with investigators in 2025, the victim revealed years of alleged sexual assaults that began when she was just 12 years old. She also claimed Esterly had given her methamphetamine starting when she was 13, and that she became addicted.
Esterly is charged with rape, child endangerment and other counts. Esterly pleaded not guilty to all of the charges he’s facing.