Press Release
Convicted sex offender pleads guilty to transporting minor victims to engage in illicit sexual conduct
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of West Virginia
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Convicted sex offender Kevin J. Wick, 43, of Wheeling, pled guilty in federal court today to traveling across state lines to engage in illicit sexual conduct with multiple minor victims, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
Wick repeatedly traveled across state lines from West Virginia to Ohio throughout late 2014 and early 2015 for the purpose of engaging in unlawful sexual conduct with five minor victims all under the age of 12. On at least one occasion, Wick allegedly transported minor victims across states lines from Ohio to an apartment in West Virginia where he engaged in illicit sexual conduct with the victims.
Wick pled guilty today to a criminal Information charging him with five separate counts of “Transportation of a Minor with Intent to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity.” Subject to final approval by the court, Wick will be sentenced to 312 months in prison followed by supervised release for the remainder of his lifetime.
In June 2008, Wick was convicted of “Attempted Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse” and “Indecent Assault” in the Court of Common Pleas of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. As a result of that conviction, Wick is required to register as a sex offender and is listed as a “Sexually Violent Predator.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Vogrin prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Wheeling Police Department, the West Virginia State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Northern District of West Virginia Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Martins Ferry, Ohio Police Department, and the Belmont County, Ohio Sheriff’s Department led the investigation.
U.S. Magistrate Judge James E. Seibert presided.
Updated January 15, 2016
Topic
Violent Crime
Component