Court rejects appeal of former KY prosecutor who granted favors for nude pics
The U.S. Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of a Kentucky prosecutor who got nude photos and explicit videos from a woman in exchange for helping her in court.
Ronnie Goldy, the former commonwealth’s attorney for Bath, Menifee, Montgomery and Rowan counties, was sentenced to 41 months in prison in May 2024.
He had been accused of having sex with and getting nude photos and explicit videos from a woman who had been arrested multiple times. In return, Goldy was accused of granting her favors, such as working to get her charges reduced or to get her released from jail.
Incriminating text messages were among the evidence presented at trial, and the woman testified against Goldy.
A jury convicted Goldy of all 14 charges in a federal indictment, including bribery and honest services wire fraud — meaning he used electronic communications to defraud the public of the honest services they were owed by him as an elected official.
Goldy appealed his conviction, arguing the court was wrong to limit or exclude some of his testimony and that there wasn’t enough evidence offered against him. He also challenged his sentence and a condition of his supervised release that will prohibit him from using alcohol excessively.
The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals handed down an opinion Thursday affirming the lower court’s conviction and sentence in Goldy’s case.
Goldy, who spent 10 years as prosecutor, resigned from his position in February 2023 as the state legislature considered removing him from office.
The state Senate approved articles of impeachment against Goldy the following month, prohibiting him from holding office again. The short trial that was held in that matter was the first in the Kentucky Senate in 135 years.
