Published June 27. 2026 02:55PM<\/p>\n
District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan on June 22 released information about the death of a Lehigh County Jail inmate.<\/p>\n
Kevin Esterly, 53, of Whitehall Township, was found by jail staff shortly before 1:30 a.m. on Monday in a single jail cell.<\/p>\n
Esterly was unresponsive and found hanging by a bedsheet that had been tied to his top bed bunk.<\/p>\n
Correctional officers and the jail\u2019s medical staff immediately rendered aid until Allentown EMS arrived.<\/p>\n
Esterly was pronounced dead around 2:16 a.m. the same day in the emergency department of an area hospital.<\/p>\n
An autopsy was concluded and Lehigh County Coroner ruled Esterly died from hanging and his death was ruled a suicide.<\/p>\n
There was no indication Esterly was taking medication for nor diagnosed with a mental health issue.<\/p>\n
Esterly was in a single cell because a fellow inmate had recently been moved to another area of the jail.<\/p>\n
Esterly\u2019s death has been investigated by the Lehigh County Homicide Task Force.<\/p>\n
In March, Esterly was convicted of all charges related to a child rape investigation.<\/p>\n
Esterly was scheduled to be sentenced and have a hearing to determine whether he met the legal criteria to be deemed a sexually-violent predator on June 30.<\/p>\n
He faced a possible sentence of 43.5 years to 87 years in state prison.<\/p>\n
He would have also been required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.<\/p>\n
On Feb. 21, 2025, a report was filed with Allentown Police regarding a juvenile sexual assault that occurred over an extended period of time beginning in the summer of 2016 and ending in March 2018.<\/p>\n
The name of the victim will not be released, but her partial date of birth is December 2001.<\/p>\n
During interviews with police, the victim reported that she was first introduced to Esterly when she was 8 years old.<\/p>\n
Esterly was the stepfather of the victim\u2019s juvenile friend.<\/p>\n
The victim told investigators she began spending a lot of time with the friend, including spending weekends and summers at the Esterly home.<\/p>\n
The friend\u2019s family later moved to a home in Lowhill Township.<\/p>\n
In 2018, Esterly was convicted of corruption of minors as a misdemeanor of the first degree and sentenced to 2 1\/2 to 5 years in prison involving a case with the same victim.<\/p>\n
In that case, Esterly and the victim were returned from Mexico following his flight from the Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\n
The victim disclosed last year that the abuse inflicted by Esterly was more significant than she initially disclosed.<\/p>\n
Esterly provided her with alcohol at a family birthday party and raped her when she was 14 years old.<\/p>\n
The victim said Esterly sexually assaulted her almost every time she slept over at the home.<\/p>\n
These disclosures were not included in the 2018 prosecution.<\/p>\n
The victim said Esterly also provided her with alcohol and drugs in the course of the sexual assault.<\/p>\n
Esterly was taken into custody on June 11, 2025 in West Virginia after two vehicle pursuits.<\/p>\n
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