A Tigard, Oregon man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after attempting to meet what he believed was a nine-year-old child for sexual purposes. Andrew Sterling Hilliker, 47, received the sentence along with five years of supervised release following his prison term.
Court documents show that on January 28, 2024, Hilliker contacted an undercover law enforcement officer through Kik Messenger. The officer was posing as the parent of a nine-year-old child during an investigation into online child exploitation. Hilliker engaged in explicit conversations and indicated his intention to abuse the child.
Hilliker arranged to meet the undercover officer and the purported child at a hotel in Vancouver, Washington. He traveled from Oregon to Washington on January 31, 2024, where he was arrested upon arrival with condoms in his possession. During questioning by investigators, Hilliker admitted that he thought he was communicating with a child’s parent and had discussed sexually explicit acts involving the minor.
A federal grand jury indicted Hilliker on February 22, 2024, charging him with attempted coercion and enticement of a minor as well as interstate travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. He pleaded guilty to attempted coercion and enticement of a minor on January 14, 2025.
The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Eliza Carmen Rodriguez, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
Members of the public who have information about child exploitation are encouraged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit tips online at https://tips.fbi.gov/.
The FBI Child Exploitation Task Force conducts investigations related to sexual exploitation in cooperation with federal, state and local agencies. The task force aims both to apprehend offenders and assist victims of sex trafficking and child exploitation.
Federal law considers any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving minors as illegal material. Sharing such images can further harm victims each time their abuse is viewed online. Additional information is available from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at https://www.missingkids.org/.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, a Justice Department initiative begun in May 2006 designed to address increasing rates of child sexual exploitation and abuse. More details can be found at https://www.justice.gov/psc.
