Son of Franklin County sheriff accused of rape near University of Kentucky campus

A University of Kentucky student who is the son of Franklin County Sheriff Pat Melton was arrested Tuesday and charged in Fayette County with rape and sodomy, according to court records.

The victim told police on July 7 Patrick Melton, 21, “had sexual and deviate sexual intercourse” with her without consent, according to court records. Patrick Melton is the son of the sheriff, according to the State Journal.

Melton is a sophomore in the University of Kentucky’s College of Education, according to a university spokesperson.

Melton, the victim and their friends were at Melton’s Lexington residence July 5 drinking alcohol and they became intoxicated, court records show. When the victim passed out in the University Avenue residence near the UK campus, Melton left to go to Two Keys Tavern and returned in the early morning hours of July 6, according to Melton’s arrest citation.

Melton allegedly woke up the victim from the living room couch and said he wanted to have sex with her. The victim said “no” to his advances several times because neither of them had a condom and she was not on birth control, according to court records.

Despite the victim telling Melton “no,” he persisted and began to sexually assault her, Melton’s arrest citation states. The victim attempted to squirm away, push and kick Melton, but he allegedly did not stop.

“The victim advised Mr. Melton made sure (she) didn’t go anywhere,” according to the arrest citation.

The next day, Melton allegedly texted the victim, “Yeah I know we kinda hooked up I was gonna see what you thought about that,” court records show. The victim told Melton in a responding text that it really “spooked” her and Melton then said he had “no problem pretending nothing happened,” his arrest citation states.

Multiple witnesses confirmed the victim’s statements that she was intoxicated and was passed out prior to Melton waking her up.

Melton was arrested Tuesday afternoon and jailed at the Fayette County Detention Center. He has since been released on a $17,500 bond, WKYT reported.

This story was originally published August 29, 2018 at 8:26 AM.