‘Crystal Rogers Act’ takes effect this week in Kentucky. Here’s what it does
A new law named after missing and presumed dead Bardstown mother Crystal Rogers will take effect July 15 that makes it a felony to share recorded grand jury testimony.
House Bill 305, known as the Crystal Rogers Act, will increase the statute of limitations for recording grand jury testimony from one year to 10 years. The offense is originally classified as a misdemeanor, but sharing the testimony bolsters the charge to a felony under the new law.
Rogers, 35, was last seen July 3, 2015, and her mother reported her missing two days later. Her body has never been found and she is presumed dead.
Three men, including Rogers’ then-boyfriend, Brooks Houck, have been convicted and sentenced in connection to her death and disappearance under a range of charges.
Why the new law is being enacted
During the trial, it was revealed that Houck’s mother, Rosemary Houck, and brother, Nick Houck, were “unindicted co-conspirators” in Rogers’ death.
At Brooks Houck’s first court appearance, prosecutors said Houck’s family recorded grand jury testimony — a felony — as the state was seeking to indict Brooks Houck.
Grand jury proceedings are done in secret, and consist of 12 citizens selected to serve at random. During the proceedings, evidence is presented by a commonwealth’s attorney who can call witnesses that often consist of law enforcement officials.
Because it was more than a year before prosecutors discovered the grand jury proceedings were recorded, no one could be charged under the prior law
HB 305 was filed by Rep. Candy Massaroni during the 2026 legislative session and signed into law by Gov. Andy Beshear in April.
Where the Crystal Rogers case stands
Brooks Houck was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison in summer 2025. He is appealing his sentence, and the case is before the Kentucky Supreme Court. Two co-conspirators were convicted and sentenced on lesser offenses.
His brother, former Bardstown police officer Nick Houck, was indicted in June on a felony perjury charge. His 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.”
However, it did not specify what Nick Houck said or if it was connected to the disappearance of Rogers.
He pleaded not guilty at an arraignment earlier this month. His trial is set for Nov. 9.
The murder case of Rogers’ father, Tommy Ballard, remains unsolved. Ballard was shot and killed while hunting at his property along the Bluegrass Parkway.
Prosecutors previously said that a gun matching nearly all criteria of the murder weapon in Ballard’s death was sold to undercover police by Nick Houck. But he has not been charged in connection to Ballard’s death.
