Sentencing set in meth-related sexual assault case

A pair of cases filed in Oneida County Circuit Court late last summer involving alleged human trafficking and solicitation of prostitution are moving toward final resolution.

John Leo Hildebrand, 58, is scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday while Louis Hallock, 63, recently waived his right to a preliminary hearing.

On March 1, after the Oneida County district’s attorney amended the charges against him from six counts of human trafficking to three counts of third-degree sexual assault, two counts of attempted third-degree sexual assault and one count of delivery of methamphetamine, Hildebrand entered no contest pleas to all counts.

In entering a no-contest plea a defendant does not admit guilt but concedes the state has sufficient evidence to prove the elements of the charges.

The trafficking charges were filed on Aug. 16 but progress in litigating the case was initially delayed due to difficulties in finding a public defender attorney to represent Hildebrand as well as a request for substitution of judge that moved the case from the docket of Oneida County circuit judge Mike Bloom to Forest County circuit court judge Leon Stenz.

After an attorney was appointed, Hildebrand was bound over for further proceedings following a preliminary hearing that featured testimony from law enforcement officers.

A task force investigator testified that the investigation began after an individual who was in custody of the probation and parole department asked to speak with law enforcement regarding human trafficking. 

The individual reported that Hildebrand had offered various quantities of methamphetamine in exchange for sexual acts. 

The investigator also detailed investigatory interviews with three other alleged victims, all of whom reported similar experiences with Hildebrand with respect to location and requests for sex in exchange for meth.

The second witness recounted interviews with the other two alleged victims as well as Hildebrand’s arrests for possession of methamphetamine and felony bail jumping.

As the investigation broadened, individuals being interviewed shared the names of other individuals law enforcement should contact, the officer explained.

According to that complaint, one of the alleged victims told investigators they did not want to participate in sex acts with Hildebrand but they “cared more about meth than food or water.” 

The same individual also told police they felt as they were selling their “soul” for meth.

A jury trial, scheduled for March, was canceled after Hildebrand agreed to plead no contest to the amended counts. However, according to court records, his attorney has since he indicated a motion to withdraw the pleas may be forthcoming.

According to court records, Judge Stenz advised the attorney that he would allow some argument on the motion to withdraw, if one is filed, but if the motion is denied the court will proceed to sentencing.

As of press time for this edition, no motion has been filed.

Progress in litigating Hallock’s case was also slowed by difficulties in securing legal representation for the defendant. Attorneys Kelli Thompson and Al Moustakis were appointed by the state public defender’s office in April and May respectively and on May 10, Hallock appeared before Judge Mike Bloom to waive his preliminary hearing on six counts of solicitation of prostitution and one count of keeping a place of prostitution.

According to the criminal complaint, the charges are related to an investigation conducted by the Oneida County sheriff’s office involving victims performing sexual acts against their will in exchange for “narcotics, employment, residency, bail money, future ownership of land and property, as well as vehicles.”

“Some of these victims were coerced into performing sex acts while under the influence of narcotics, alcohol, the threat of great bodily harm or death, the use of law enforcement to apprehend individuals with bondable warrants, pay for the victims’ bond in exchange for sex acts, the threat of apprehension from law enforcement or probation, as well as being physically restrained and sexually assaulted,” the complaint alleges.

In the complaint, prosecutors also noted that Hallock was on probation for second-degree sexual assault of a child and has “an extensive history with the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office in regard to sexual assaults dating back to the 1990s...”

After the new charges were filed, Hallock’s probation in the sexual assault case was revoked. A sentencing hearing on revocation is still pending. A pretrial conference related to both the solicitation charges and the sexual assault case is scheduled for July 5.

Investigators have previously described the Hallock and Hildebrand cases as “entertwined.”