Howard resigns as Elliott jailer

Local News

Discussion

August 6, 2009

Heads to prison after rape conviction

Kenneth Hart/The Independent The Daily Independent Thu Aug 06, 2009, 11:53 PM EDT

Sandy Hook — More than a month after being convicted of rape and sentenced to 12 years in prison, Charles Howard has resigned his position as Elliott County jailer.

Howard stepped down after being informed in a letter from Elliott Judge-Executive David Blair that Ohio Casualty Insurance Group would be revoking his public official bond effective Aug. 16, and, absent receipt of a new bond, he would no longer be qualified to hold the office.

The 51-year-old Howard, who was in his second term as jailer, struck a defiant tone in his hand-written resignation letter, which was dated July 29 and forwarded to Elliott Commonwealth’s Attorney David Flatt by Howard’s attorney, Michael Curtis.

“I want to emphasize by resigning that I am not admitting any wrongdoing and once my appeal is successful, I intend to reclaim my position as jailer,” the letter states. “As such, this resignation in my mind is temporary. I expect to be vindicated and cleared of these malicious allegations.”

Howard testified during his trial that he dropped out of school in the eighth grade and could barely read or write. However, his one-page letter is neatly printed with no misspellings.

To replace Howard as jailer, Blair appointed Mark E. Lewis, who placed second behind Howard in the 2006 Democratic primary in Elliott, and who was designated by the fiscal court to transport prisoners after Howard was arrested in September of last year. Lewis will serve the remainder of Howard’s term, which expires at the end of 2010.

Elliott County has not operated its own jail since 1986, when the state ordered the county to close its lockup. All prisoners from Elliott are transported to jails in other counties to be held, and Elliott pays fees to those counties for housing its inmates.

County jailer is a constitutional office in Kentucky. In counties that do not operate their own jails, the jailer’s principal duty is transporting prisoners, although Kentucky Revised Statutes state they can also serve as bailiffs in circuit and district courts.

A Boyd Circuit Court jury on June 29 found Howard guilty of raping a 27-year-old Boyd County woman while transporting her from Sandy Hook to the Boyd County Detention Center. The woman had been arrested in Elliott County on some outstanding misdemeanor warrants.

The victim testified that Howard drove her to an isolated spot off U.S. 60 in the Rush area and made her have sex with him. She said Howard held her down in the front seat of his vehicle as he was raping her.

Under state sentencing guidelines, Howard will have to serve 85 percent of his sentence before he can be considered for parole. He also will have to complete a sex offender treatment program in prison before he can begin earning time that will count toward his parole eligibility.

Howard is currently being held in the Greenup County Detention Center, according to the Kentucky Online Offender Lookup System.

KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.

Text Only

Local News

Rice, 18 volunteers recognized for agency work at annual dinner presentation
When Kim Rice became director the Ashland Senior Center six years ago, the center on 15th Street in downtown Ashland was losing its focus and patrons, Steve Towler, executive director of the United Way of Northeast Kentucky, told the more than 200 people attending Thursday night’s annual United Way Volunteer Recognition Dinner.

February 11, 2012
Firefighters, city reach settlement on overtime
The city of Ashland has reached an agreement with firefighters involved in a dispute involving overtime wages after an audit by the Kentucky Labor Cabinet.

February 11, 2012
Plea in Greenup love triangle
A Greenup County man on Friday admitted in court that in August 2010 he shot to death a Washington man who’d traveled across the country to be with his former girlfriend.

February 11, 2012
Putnam restoration gets additional $50K
The Putnam Stadium Restoration Foundation got a $50,000 boost from The Woodlands Foundation.

February 10, 2012
Kentucky schools get waiver on No Child Left Behind
Kentucky and nine other states received waivers Thursday from the federal No Child Left Behind Act, in exchange for putting their own improved accountability systems in place.

February 10, 2012
Sweet harmony
Many women all over the world travel miles every week, just to sing with a barbershop chorus.

February 10, 2012 1 Photo
Bankruptcy filings: 2/10/12
Bankruptcy filings in the Eastern District of U.S. Bankruptcy Court include the following:

February 9, 2012
Russell Independent School District
A new gym floor at Russell High School will cost somewhere between $71,000 and $107,000, school board members learned Thursday.

February 9, 2012
Workers reject contract offer
Hourly workers at Marathon Petroleum’s Catlettsburg refinery on Wednesday rejected a contract offer from the company.

February 9, 2012
UW campaign tops $780,000
While the economy of this region continues to struggle, the people of northeastern Kentucky again proved this is a caring and giving area by easily surpassing the ambitious $750,000 for the 2011 campaign of the United Way of Northeast Kentucky.

February 9, 2012
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

Discussion

Howard resigns as Elliott jailer

Heads to prison after rape conviction

Site Map

Contact Us