Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's sex trafficking problem misunderstood
(The Center Square) – Few understand the complexity and scope of sex trafficking in Pennsylvania, experts say, making it harder to combat the issue at the legislative level.
The seminal issue arose during the Senate Majority Policy Committee’s recent public hearing in Pittsburgh in keeping with Human Trafficking Awareness Month.
While experts and law enforcement professionals were happy to have the spotlight shown on a little-understood issue pervading the state, the hearing demonstrated a need to align language, priorities and interests around the topic. The committee heard testimony from experts ranging from law enforcement professionals to those working in outreach, education and victim services, who emphasized the widespread and home-grown nature of the crime.
“These cases are not what you see in Hollywood,” said Michele Kelly Walsh, executive deputy attorney for the state’s Office of Attorney General.
Testifiers said that most victims are from the communities where they’re trafficked, often vulnerable young women experiencing personal hardships like drug addiction and homelessness. Predators use these vulnerabilities to draw them in, offering opportunities before trapping them in a life of slavery.
The issue sits at the intersection of several problems pressing the state, including crises in mental health, homelessness and drug addiction. Human trafficking is on the rise, in large part because the sale can be replicated over and over once a victim has been enslaved.
“It’s hard to identify those victims of human trafficking and hard to prosecute,” said Kathy Buckley, director of the PA Office of Victim Services. Many who have been trafficked as children are not aware they are the victim of a crime, while many adults don’t want to self-identify.
Sen. Cris Dush, R-Brookville, noted that survivors he’d spoken with would never call a hotline.
Part of the problem relates to the criminalization of sex work. Because the labor they’re forced into is a crime, victims are hesitant to come forward. Many have also been charged with other offenses during their enslavement, like theft and assault.
Brad Ortenzi, retired detective and Eastern USA Regional Director of Zoe International, noted that organizations like his are crucial to bridging the gap between enforcement and victims.
“As a retired detective, I can tell you that law enforcement is not always easy to work with, but from a services side, they’re not speaking the same language,” he said.
“It’s critically important that we center the needs of survivors who are really expertised at their lived experience and know what they need best,” said Sidney McCoy, director of advocacy for Shared Hope International.
Senate Republicans took the opportunity to capitalize on the political traction of the crime to meander into mentions of the southern border, Jeffrey Epstein, and human smuggling. Majotity Leader Joe Pittman, R-Indiana, reminded the audience that attorneys general are elected officials, and the “quality of law enforcement” is “in the hands of the voter.”
Pittman later attempted to draw a contrast between efforts in the United States and perceived problems abroad, asking Jordan Pine, founder and CEO of Greenlight Operation for her reaction.
“When we talk about everything from our educational efforts to the safety net to the engagement of our law enforcement, our expertise, our resources, I just can’t believe that many others can be even comparable to what we’re trying to do on this front,” Pittman said.
Pine noted that she was first made aware of the problems in the commonwealth while working with organizations in Greece, where she was asked about the trafficking crisis in Carlisle in Cumberland County – underlining that much work has yet to be done to increase awareness of the problem at home.
One takeaway from Paul Lukach, executive director of Crime Victim Center, is the need to start educating children in schools about potential dangers beginning in kindergarten. This includes teaching about safe people, safe secrets, and safe touching — topics under scrutiny from conservatives who are currently working locally and federally to censor mention of sexuality in the classroom.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania man arrested for allegedly feeding pet parakeet marijuana and beer
A Pennsylvania man was arrested on animal cruelty charges for allegedly feeding marijuana and beer to his pet parakeet after bringing the injured feathered friend to a bar, according to reports.
Timothy Grace, 40, was busted on Feb. 21 after carrying his wounded pet budgie named “Blue Skies” in his pocket to Callaghan’s Bar in Greensburg, according to CBS Pittsburgh.
“The caller’s a bartender. She says there is a white male at the bar with a parakeet,” a dispatcher reported on the police radio transmissions obtained by the outlet.
“The patron was bragging to other people that were inside the bar that he feeds the parakeet marijuana and has it drink beer on a daily basis,” Detective Sergeant Justin Scalzo told the outlet.
Grace “appeared extremely intoxicated” when police showed up to the bar and found the pet bird in distress, according to court documents obtained by the outlet.
“Its leg appeared to be broken,” Scalzo said, according to WTAE. “Its foot was actually facing the wrong direction.”
Grave was initially arrested for public intoxication and now faces charges including aggravated cruelty to animals and transporting animals in a cruel manner, the outlet said.
The pet bird was brought to PEARL Parrot Rescue in the Pittsburgh area, which rushed him to an emergency care facility.
Blue Skies spent four days in the hospital and was later taken in to be fostered by Teri Grendzinski, the president of PEARL. The injured parakeet is still breathing hard, remains on antibiotics, and has to wear a splint on his right leg, CBS reported.
“They realized his leg was broken. He also had some respiratory issues going on,” Grendzinski told the outlet. “He was also very, very skinny.”
“The leg was broken badly enough there is a chance they’re going to have to amputate the leg if it doesn’t heal correctly,” she added.
If Blue Skies is eventually put up for adoption, he will require specialized care, the outlet said.
“When we got that call, it was horrifying. Why would you do that to a bird?” Grendzinski said.
Pennsylvania
Pa. man found guilty of raping teen girl who he took to Mexico
A Pennsylvania man was found guilty of repeatedly raping his daughter’s best friend over a three-year span before fleeing with the teen to Mexico.
On Thursday, March 5, 2026, Kevin Esterly, 53, of Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania, was convicted on all counts of rape, statutory sexual assault, involuntary sexual intercourse and endangering the welfare of children.
Esterly shook his head as the verdict was read but said nothing in the courtroom.
Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673.
Esterly’s trial began on Tuesday, March 3, after a judge denied his pretrial motion for the charges against him to be dismissed and for the Lehigh County District Attorney to be removed as a prosecutor in the case.
Both Esterly and his victim testified on Wednesday, March 4.
The victim — who is now 24-years-old — told the courtroom that she met Esterly and his family while attending church as a child and became best friends with one of his daughters. Esterly was a youth leader and elder at the church at the time. The victim said Esterly also coached her soccer team.
The victim said she became so close to Esterly’s family that she called his wife “mom” and eventually spent almost every weekend at their home in Lowhill Township, Pennsylvania. She also said she vacationed with them in New York state and Ocean City, Maryland.
The victim said Esterly first sexually assaulted her in August 2015 when she was 13-years-old after he gave her alcohol during a family birthday party.
“I was scared. Frozen in fear,” the woman told the courtroom on Wednesday. “I pretended I was sleeping.”
The woman accused Esterly of sexually assaulting her almost every time she slept over at his home. She told the courtroom she eventually became addicted to alcohol and drugs, which Esterly gave her in exchange for sex. According to the woman, Esterly gave her cocaine and methamphetamine to keep her awake during school because she “would be up with him all night.”
The woman said Esterly continued to sexually assault her until he was confronted by his wife in 2017. Esterly’s wife then threw him out of the house, according to the victim. She said Esterly continued to sexually assault her over the next year.
Esterly was later arrested and then sentenced to prison after federal agents found him with the victim in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, in 2018. She was 16-years-old at the time.
The woman said she moved on and went to college after Esterly’s sentencing though she still struggled with drug addiction. She said she sought counseling in February 2025. She told the courtroom she received a message from Esterly on LinkedIn that same month in which he apologized for “failing you as a person I was supposed to be for you.” At that point Esterly had been released from prison.
The woman said she had not told anyone about her relationship with Esterly up to that point and replied to him, “I live with our secret every day as I promised. I would appreciate an apology.”
The woman told the courtroom that Esterly responded by writing, “I hope one day you can forgive me. Nobody knows I reached out to you. That is the best for both of us.”
On Feb. 21, 2025, Allentown Police received a report of Esterly’s sexual assaults which led to the new charges being filed against him. He was arrested in West Virginia in June 2025 after two police pursuits. He was then extradited to Pennsylvania.
The victim told the courtroom on Wednesday that she kept quiet about Esterly’s abuse for years because she “was afraid to speak,” and felt “dirty and ashamed.”
“I wasn’t ready to tell anyone,” she said. “He was a father figure in my life. I loved him.”
The woman also said she didn’t want to hurt Esterly’s daughter who was her best friend.
When the District Attorney asked her why she was “here today,” she replied by saying, “I want to tell the truth. I want to be set free.”
The woman ended her testimony by saying, “I don’t want to live with this secret anymore.”
After her testimony, Esterly took the stand for 45 minutes, denied all of the accusations against him and accused the woman of lying.
Closing arguments then took place Thursday morning. It then took an hour for the jury of seven women and five men to reach their verdict.
Pennsylvania
3 dead in apparent murder-suicide spanning from Pennsylvania to Illinois, police say
Two women are dead in Pennsylvania and a man is dead in Illinois after an apparent murder-suicide, police said on Wednesday.
According to a report from the Pennsylvania State Police, the investigation began in Hillside, Illinois, when police there were dispatched after a man reported two women dead in Jackson Township, Pennsylvania. Police said that when officers got to Hillside, about 15 miles west of Chicago, they found that the man had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
After identifying him, troopers said Hillside officers contacted police from Jackson Township to request a welfare check at the man’s home on Dior Drive, about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh.
Police said officers used forced entry to get into the home and found two women dead from apparent gunshot wounds. It’s believed the two women were family members of the man who died by suicide in Illinois, investigators said.
Pennsylvania State Police said they’ve assumed control of the case and are “actively investigating” what happened surrounding the three deaths.
Police didn’t release any names, saying the process of formal identification and notification of next of kin hasn’t been completed. Sources told KDKA that the victims were a husband, wife and their daughter.
“At this time, investigators believe there is no ongoing threat to the public, and law enforcement is not searching for any additional individuals in connection with this incident,” police wrote in the public information release report. “This remains an active and ongoing investigation.”
State police didn’t release any other details on Wednesday but said more information will be made public when it’s available.
“My first reaction was shocked because this is such a close-knit neighborhood, and to think something that horrible could happen here is very tragic because they were such a good family,” neighbor Danielle Sporer said on Wednesday.
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