District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan released information June 22 about the death of a Lehigh County Jail inmate. Kevin Esterly, 53, of Whitehall Township, was found by jail staff shortly before 1:30 a.m. that day in a single jail cell.

Esterly was unresponsive and found hanging by a bedsheet that had been tied to his top bed bunk. Correctional officers and the jail’s medical staff immediately rendered aid until Allentown EMS arrived.

Esterly was pronounced dead around 2:16 a.m. the same day in the emergency department of an area hospital.

The Lehigh County Coroner’s Office conducted an autopsy and ruled Esterly died from hanging and his death was ruled a suicide.

There was no indication Esterly was taking medication for nor diagnosed with a mental health issue, according to the news release from the DA’s office.

Esterly was in a single cell because a fellow inmate had recently been moved to another area of the jail.

Esterly’s death has been investigated by the Lehigh County Homicide Task Force.

In March, Esterly was convicted of all charges related to a child rape investigation. He was scheduled to be sentenced and have a hearing June 30 to determine whether he met the legal criteria to be deemed a sexually- violent predator.

He faced a possible sentence of 43.5-87 years in state prison, according to the news release, and would have been required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

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.

The name of the victim will not be released, but her partial date of birth is December 2001.

During interviews with police, the victim reported she was first introduced to Esterly when she was 8 years old. Esterly was the stepfather of the victim’s juvenile friend, according to the news release.

The victim told investigators she began spending a lot of time with the friend, including spending weekends and summers at the Esterly home.

The friend’s family later moved to a home in Lowhill Township.

In 2018, Esterly was convicted of corruption of minors as a misdemeanor of the first degree and sentenced to 2.5-5 years in prison involving a case with the same victim.

In that case, Esterly and the victim were returned from Mexico following his flight from the Lehigh Valley.

The victim disclosed last year that the abuse inflicted by Esterly was more significant than she initially disclosed.

Esterly provided her with alcohol at a family birthday party and raped her when she was 14 years old, according to the news release.

The victim said Esterly sexually assaulted her almost every time she slept over at the home.

These disclosures were not included in the 2018 prosecution, the DA said.

The victim said Esterly also provided her with alcohol and drugs in the course of the sexual assault.

Esterly was taken into custody June 11, 2025, in West Virginia after two vehicle pursuits.