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Former Kentucky Judge Pleads Guilty to Human Trafficking

By William Vogeler, Esq. on May 09, 2018 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

You can't always believe what you read in the National Enquirer, but you can hardly believe this story from the Cincinnati Enquirer.

According to reports, a former Kentucky judge has been sentenced to 20 years for human trafficking and related crimes. He forced as many as 19 women, including minors, into sex acts.

Tim Nolan, 72, left the bench in 1986 and spent his recent career in politics. But even in a world with Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein, Nolan is no position to judge anybody.

Drugs for Sex

Prosecutors said Nolan, who was a judge in the late 1970's and 1980's, took advantage of young drug offenders. He gave them drugs in exchange for sex, and threatened to use his political and legal influence against them if they refused him.

He was arrested in 2016 after a 16-year-old girl accused him of sexual abuse. At his sentencing, one victim said in a letter that she turned herself in to authorities rather than spend "one more second with Tim Nolan."

"Tim Nolan, I want to say, you ruined my life," another reported. "You ruined my childhood teenage years and made me lose hope."

Nolan was a Campbell County judge from 1978 to 1986, and a leader in the local Trump campaign for president. However, the Enquirer reported, other leaders have "distanced" themselves from the former judge since his arrest.

Probation, Please?

Assistant Attorney General Barbara Whaley read letters from 19 victims at his sentencing hearing.

"I find it hard to sleep some nights because certain images from my past encounters with Tim Nolan continue to haunt me," one woman wrote.

Nolan asked for probation, but Judge Kathleen Lape handed down a jail sentence.

He will be eligible for parole in four years, must register as a sex offender, pay $100,000 in asset forfeiture and $10,000 to a fund for victims of human trafficking.

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