Kelso man charged with 37 felonies alleging abuse of two girls

A 31-year-old Kelso man has pleaded not guilty to 37 felonies in a Cowlitz County Superior Court over accusations that he sexually abused two minors on multiple occasions for years.

Kevin Michael Hibberd is accused of sexually abusing and exploiting a 10-year-old between 2017 and September 2022. He is expected to appear via Zoom before a Cowlitz County Superior court on March 2 for a pre-trial hearing at 9 a.m.

He’s also accused of raping and molesting another similarly aged girl between 2018 and 2022.

Among the charges Hibberd is facing are 12 counts of rape, four counts of child molestation, four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, and three counts of possession of images of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to court documents.

Sixteen of the charges are punishable by a life sentence in a Washington state prison, according to a court document.

The victim’s mother told police that Hibberd confessed to her that he sexually abused her child between April 2022 and May 2022.

Hibberd must stay at least 100 yards away from one of the victims and is prohibited from obtaining or possessing firearms. The other victim since has moved out of the area.

The mother of the first potential victim provided investigators access to a cellphone that contained two videos and photos, allegedly of Hibberd engaging in sexual contact with the victim, according to a probable cause statement.

Hibberd allegedly made a nearly six-minute video of him dancing in his underwear in front of the first girl before proceeding to sexually abuse her, according to a probable cause statement.

In another video, lasting one hour and 27 minutes, Hibberd forces the victim to wear revealing clothing and then proceeds to allegedly assault the minor, according to the statement.

The document also states that Hibberd asked the victim to send photos of herself to him.

In October 2022, Hibberd was compelled by a court order to surrender a DNA sample to determine if his DNA was present on evidence collected by investigators.

According to court documents, on Sept. 18, 2022, Hibberd sent a text message to the victim asking her to “Send me a picture of up your dress. I want to see what panties you are wearing.”

In a court memorandum, Hibberd is also accused of sexually abusing a neighbor’s daughter – who was 10 years old at the time. The memorandum also states Hibberd has abused the girl as early as 6 or 7 years old.

In 2014, Hibberd pleaded guilty to molesting a child.