09-28-05 -- Hildreth, Kevin W. -- Sentencing -- News Release

Former Nutley Man Sentenced to 97 Months for Traveling to Have Sex with Minor and Possessing Child Pornography

NEWARK - A former Nutley man was sentenced today to eight years and one month in federal prison for traveling in interstate commerce for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a child, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

U.S. District Judge William H. Walls sentenced Kevin W. Hildreth, 36, to the top of the eligible range - 78 to 97 months - under the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. Parole has been abolished in the federal system, and defendants serving custodial sentences must serve nearly all that time.

"This is the kind of child predator parents and members of a civilized society fear most," Christie said. "Our goal was to keep him locked up and away from children for as long as possible."

At today's sentencing hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Walsh cited Nutley Police reports from the time of Hildreth's arrest in June 2004. In them, Hildreth - after admitting to police that he had raped and sexually assaulted at least nine children in New Jersey and Pennsylvania over the course of 16 years - was asked if he had anything else to say to police.

"I have an illness and I am a sexual predator," Hildreth said, according to a portion of the police report read in court today. Asked by an officer if he would sexually abuse a child if left alone with one, Hildreth added, "I would, because I enjoy it."

Hildreth pleaded guilty before Judge Walls on April 7, admitting that he traveled from New Jersey to Scranton, Pa., in May 2004 to commit sexual acts with a 7-year-old male relative. Hildreth also admitted guilt to a separate count of possessing child pornography on his personal computer.

In June 2005, Hildreth pleaded guilty in Essex County Superior Court to second-degree sexual assault and first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, which were two of numerous sexual abuse and kidnaping crimes charged against Hildreth by the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. He awaits sentencing in Essex County in November.

According to the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, many of the other incidents Hildreth was involved in occurred while Hildreth volunteered to supervise children at the Wesley Methodist Church in Belleville. He also acted as an assistant scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 301 at the church, a position he had held until approximately five years earlier.

Hildreth was initially targeted for investigation after his credit card and e-mail information was discovered as part of a larger federal investigation into an international child pornography conspiracy. Hildreth surfaced in that investigation as one of the American customers who purchased access to child pornography websites.

Hildreth has been held without bail in federal custody in the Passaic County Jail since his arrest in June 2004 on the federal charges. Now that he has been sentenced, Hildreth will be designated for transfer to a federal facility by the federal Bureau of Prisons.

Christie credited Immigration and Customs Enforcement, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Kyle Hutchins, with developing the case against the defendant. Christie also recognized the efforts of the Belleville and Nutley Police Departments, as well as the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, under the direction of Essex County Prosecutor Paul T. Dow, in developing additional information against Hildreth resulting in the local convictions in Superior Court.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Walsh of the Public Protection Unit in Newark.

-end-

Defense counsel:

Peter M. Carter, Esq., Newark