Wheeling Sex Offender Gets 26 Years Behind Bars
WHEELING — A Wheeling man will spend the next 26 years behind bars for bringing several minors across state lines to have sex with them, a federal judge ruled Monday.
U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey handed down the sentence against Kevin J. Wick, 43, in federal court in Wheeling, according to U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld. Wick had pleaded guilty in January to five counts of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.
Wick transported minors from Martins Ferry to an apartment in Wheeling, where he engaged in sexual conduct with the victims.
Ihlenfeld previously said the acts occurred throughout late 2014 and early 2015. A grand jury indicted Wick in June of 2015.
Three of the victims are brothers, ranging in age from 8-11 years old.
Wick had also been charged with five counts of travel with intent to engage in sexual conduct, in addition to the five counts to which he pleaded guilty earlier this year. All told, Wick faced a maximum penalty of 200 years in prison and $2.5 million in fines.
At the time of the most recent charges, Wick was already a registered sex offender, according to Ihlenfeld’s office.
In June 2008, Wick was convicted of attempted involuntary sexual intercourse and indecent assault in Westmoreland County, Pa., Common Pleas Court. 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 L. Vogrin prosecuted the case against Wick. The Wheeling Police Department, the West Virginia State Police, the FBI, the Northern District of West Virginia Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Martins Ferry Police Department and the Belmont County Sheriff’s Department all collaborated on the investigation.
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