Nick Houck, brother of man convicted for Crystal Rogers murder, has a trial date
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Judge scheduled Nick Houck's felony perjury trial to begin Nov. 9, 2026.
- Nick Houck pleaded not guilty at his June 18 arraignment and will return July 16.
- If convicted, Houck faces one to five years in prison and up to $10,000 fine.
A Kentucky judge has scheduled a trial in Nick Houck’s felony perjury case for later this year.
Houck is the brother of Brooks Houck, the former boyfriend of Crystal Rogers who was convicted for the murder of Rogers in July 2025. Nick Houck appeared in Nelson Circuit Court Thursday alongside his recently-hired attorney, Michael Ferguson. It was Nick Houck’s second time appearing in court after he pleaded not guilty at his arraignment June 18.
Nick Houck is scheduled to return to court July 16 for a pretrial conference, well ahead of the opening day of his trial, scheduled for Nov. 9. Simms looked to schedule the trial in September, but decided to push it back to November in case Ferguson decides to file a motion seeking a change of venue.
Ferguson said he was unsure if he would be seeking a change of venue for the trial. The Houcks have received significant media attention in the years-long saga surrounding Rogers’ disappearance.
Brooks Houck’s trial, along with the trials for co-conspirators Steven Lawson and Joseph Lawson, took place in Warren County rather than Nelson County. Brooks Houck was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 20 years for his conviction.
Steven Lawson and his son Joseph Lawson were convicted for conspiracy to commit murder and evidence tampering. Steven Lawson was sentenced to 17 years in prison while Joseph Lawson was sentenced to 25 years.
If convicted of perjury, Nick Houck could spend one to five years in prison and pay a fine of up to $10,000.
Nick Houck was arrested June 4 after being indicted on a charge of first-degree perjury the day before. The indictment says “between the dates of July 15th, 2015, and Aug. 16th 2023, in Nelson County, Kentucky, the above named defendant committed the offense of Perjury in the First Degree when he made a material false statement, which he did not believe, in an official proceeding, while under oath required or authorized by law.”
The indictment did not specify what Nick Houck said that was allegedly false or if it was connected to Rogers’ disappearance.
Brooks Houck was believed to be the last person to see her alive. Rogers’ body has never been found.
