Former KY jail administrator charged with stealing thousands of dollars

A former jail administrator was indicted recently on several counts of felony theft after prosecutors say he stole thousands of dollars from the Kentucky Association of Counties and the jail more than 10 years ago.

Timothy Kilburn, 63, was charged with three counts of theft by unlawful taking over $500 and less than $10,000, and two counts of theft by unlawful taking of more than $10,000 but less than $1,000,000, according to his June indictment.

The charges stem from Kilburn’s time as administrator of the Kentucky River Regional Jail in Perry County.

According to the indictment, Kilburn stole an undisclosed amount of money from the Kentucky Association of Counties, an organization that provides insurance and services to county governments in the commonwealth, between March 2013 and May 2015, and he stole an undisclosed amount of money from the jail in 2013 and 2014.

Kilburn worked as the administrator of the regional jail from 2005 until he was fired in 2015, according to Louisville Public Media.

According to Kilburn’s LinkedIn site, he is a retired Kentucky State Police trooper. It is unclear how long he worked with the state police agency. Kilburn now operates his own private investigation agency in Hazard.

Lexington attorney Patrick Nash, who is representing Kilburn, said an indictment related to decade-old allegations was not unheard of, but “not normal.”

“Mr. Kilburn maintains his innocence, and we are going to work really hard to prove his innocence,” Nash said.

A status hearing is scheduled for Oct. 30 in Perry County. Barbara Whaley, a special prosecutor for the attorney general’s office, is prosecuting the case.

This story was originally published August 26, 2025 at 11:51 AM.

Taylor Six

Lexington Herald-Leader

Taylor Six is the criminal justice reporter at the Herald-Leader. She was born and raised in Lexington attending Lafayette High School. She graduated from Eastern Kentucky University in 2018 with a degree in journalism. She previously worked as the government reporter for the Richmond Register.