Charge: Former Kentucky county official abused public trust related to missing money
A former official in Estill County has been charged with abuse of public trust in connection to money that may have been stolen, according to audits.
Kim Dawes, 55, a former deputy judge-executive, was indicted on one charge of abuse of public trust involving more than $10,000 but less than $100,000, according to a news release from Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron.
The indictment alleges that Dawes “dealt with public money from the Estill County Animal Shelter as her own and failed to make the required payment or disposition,” according to the release from Cameron.
The crime is a Class C felony punishable by 5 to 10 years in prison.
Kentucky State Police and an investigator from Cameron’s office investigated based on a referral from state Auditor Mike Harmon.
Harmon’s office said in audits that some money collected at the animal shelter was not deposited into a county bank account, raising the potential the money was stolen or misappropriated.
Those audits covered more than one fiscal year.
Another one-time county official, Judge-Executive Wallace Taylor, was indicted in 2018 on charges of abuse of public trust and later pleaded guilty to stealing more than $38,000.
Taylor was sentenced to three years in prison, diverted for five years, meaning he would not have to go to prison if there were not further violations. He died in 2020.
