Former Hilton Principal Kirk Ashton sentenced to 63 years for abuse of students

Suicide attempts and debilitating depression. Waves of guilt and sullenness. Childhood exuberance transformed into inexplicable withdrawals from friends and family.

And tears — lot of tears.

These were the painful reactions of the victims of former Hilton Central School District Principal Kirk Ashton's sexual abuse of nearly two dozen boys, parents said Wednesday at Ashton's sentencing.

State Supreme Court Justice Alex Renzi sentenced Ashton, who had been principal at Northwood Elementary School, to 63 years in prison, but, prosecutors said, corrections regulations limit the sentence to 20 years. The regulation is dictated by the lower level felonies with Ashton's convictions.

Some parents addressed the court and a nearly packed courtroom of close to 100 people. Some, unable to relive the trauma in open court, had Assistant District Attorney Sara VanStrydonck read their statements.

Some questioned the regulation that will limit the sentence to two decades. Some spoke of the courage of the boys who came forward and told of the abuse and even testified at the three-week trial.

The common thread with all 11 statements was a fear that the future will always be darkened by the abuse suffered by the boys in the confines of Ashton's office, where, with the door closed and no windows, he had young boys sit on his lap and fondled them.

"This was almost like a case study in grooming," VanStrydonck said after the sentencing.

Ashton targeted children who prosecutors said were the most vulnerable, those whose behavior would result in trips to the principal's office. There, he would find reasons for them to return time and time again, as he abused them time and time again.

Unbelieving that a person in such a position of trust could violate them, the boys kept the secret for years, with some of them spiraling into mental anguish.

"Instead of signing our boys up for more activities, we are all signing them up for more counseling," one mother said in a statement.

One mother told of how her son "stopped laughing, stopped smiling." Once active in sports, he retreated into isolation and video games.

"(Ashton) has led me to question my capability as a mother," one parent said. "... The entire district has failed our children."

In sentencing Ashton, state Supreme Court Justice Alex Renzi said, "When parents send their children to school, they do so with the expectation that it's going to be a safe environment." Instead, the children ended up being victims of sexual abuse by their principal, Renzi said.

Two dozen former students, all boys or young men, testified at Ashton's trial. Some of them detailed how Ashton touched their private parts under their clothing on numerous occasions while in his office at the school.

Revelations of the abuse has prompted questions about how it could have continued for years, as it did. The school district is facing multiple lawsuits from parents.

"Kirk Ashton targeted those who needed extra support and instead of providing a safe environment, he groomed these children," District Attorney Sandra Doorley said in a statement after the verdict. "These victims showed incredible resiliency that we hope will benefit them in their continued journey of recovery."

Ashton was the principal at Northwood Elementary School between 2004 and April 2021 and was suspended last spring after he was accused of sexually abusing students at the school, dating back to 2014. He was accused of the abuse of boys between 8 and 12 years old. He resigned months after the suspension.

The jury convicted Ashton of 46 counts — eleven counts of sexual abuse in the first degree, 17 counts of course of sexual conduct against a child and 18 counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

Jason Housel, the attorney for Ashton, noted that the jury acquitted Ashton of charges involving two boys, and the allegations with the others were similar. Ashton opted not to speak Wednesday.

When Housel asked for protective custody for Ashton, the parents in the courtroom reacted loudly.

Ashton's arrest came about after Bivona Child Advocacy Center took its curriculum into the school, telling children about sexual abuse.

A short time later, police were alerted that Ashton may have molested a boy. Within days, that investigation grew from allegations of one abused student to criminal charges alleging Ashton had molested nine students on school grounds. In all, he was accused of sexually abusing almost two dozen boys in a nine-year-span at the school. The oldest victim is now in his 20s.

On Wednesday, VanStrydonck said she and her co-prosecutor, Amanda Balling, grew angry when interviewing teachers at Northwood before the trial and some who had children at the school said they would not have allowed their kids to go to the principal's office. The teachers did not say they suspected abuse, but just found Ashton to be odd in his demeanor, according to the prosecutors.

For the Hilton district, the question of whether it closed its eyes to possible abuse will be central to the lawsuits. Federal lawsuits are now in mediation. The district also faces lawsuits in state court.

Many teachers did trust Ashton, according to authorities, and allowed the trips to the principal's office.

"He groomed the teachers, too," VanStrydonck said.