ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Lehigh County man who was convicted of sexually abusing an underage girl for years before taking her to Mexico committed suicide, according to Lehigh County Coroner Daniel Buglio.
Kevin M. Esterly, 53, of Whitehall Township, was pronounced dead at 2:16 a.m. at a local hospital Monday, Buglio said in a news release.
Esterly was incarcerated at the Lehigh County Jail at the time of the incident. He was reportedly found unresponsive in his single cell by jail staff shortly before 1:30 a.m., according to a news release from District Attorney Gavin Holihan. The D.A.’s office says Esterly was found hanging by a bedsheet that had been tied to his top bed bunk.
Buglio said correctional officers and the jail’s medical staff immediately rendered aid until Allentown EMS arrived and took him to the hospital.
The autopsy on Monday ruled that Esterly died from hanging and his death was ruled a suicide.
Authorities say there was no indication Esterly was taking medication for, nor diagnosed with a mental health issue. Esterly was in a single cell because a fellow inmate had recently been moved to another area of the jail, according to the release.
Esterly’s death has been investigated by the Lehigh County Homicide Task Force.
Esterly had been scheduled to be sentenced June 30. He had faced 43.5 to 87 years in prison.
Esterly had been found guilty on all charges, including rape, two counts of statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, and endangering the welfare of a child.
During the trial, the now 24-year-old woman testified, telling the jury how the pair met at church when she was eight and Esterly was 37. He was the stepfather of the victim’s child friend, according to authorities.
She quickly became a part of the family, spending a lot of time with the friend, including spending weekends and summers at the Esterly home, according to the DA’s office.
The victim testified that at 14, Esterly started giving her alcohol, drugs, and began a sexual relationship with her.
She said the relationship started after one of Esterly’s daughters’ birthday parties.
Esterly took the stand in his own defense during the trial. Esterly argued the victim, who is 29 years younger than him, was lying about the alleged abuse.
Esterly had already been convicted of corruption of minors as a misdemeanor in 2018 for taking the same victim to Mexico without her parents’ consent.
At that time, she denied any sexual abuse. In 2025, she recanted and went to the police after Esterly reached out to her on social media. The report filed said that the victim was assaulted over an extended period of time beginning in the summer of 2016 and ending in March 2018, the DA’s office said.