ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A 45-year-old Pennsylvania man charged with taking a 16-year-old girl to Mexico without her parents’ knowledge is facing trial after waiving his right to a preliminary hearing.
Kevin Esterly
LehighValleyLive.com reports Kevin Esterly waived the hearing Tuesday and now awaits trial on charges including custodial interference.
Esterly and the teenager were found in Mexico on March 17, about two weeks after they disappeared from Allentown.
Police have said they believe the girl went willingly with Esterly, who had posed as her stepfather and repeatedly signed her out of school.
The girl’s family previously said the two met at church years ago, and the teenager was friends with one of Esterly’s children.
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