A prosecutor who serves four Kentucky counties is facing allegations that he helped a criminal defendant with her cases in exchange for nude photos.
The allegations involving Commonwealth’s Attorney Ronnie Goldy were first reported by The Courier-Journal.
LEX 18 has since obtained the hundreds of screenshots of messages between Goldy – who serves Montgomery, Menifee, Bath, and Rowan counties – and a woman. They were provided by attorney Thomas Clay, who said he got them after they were turned over by the woman’s boyfriend. The messages appear to show Goldy agreeing to help the woman with a series of requests involving her criminal cases in exchange for nude photos and videos.
Clay said he plans to bring up the messages in the case of his client, former Bath County Circuit Court Judge Beth Maze, in an upcoming criminal trial over her handling of her ex-husband’s 2017 arrest. Goldy is listed as a state witness in Maze’s upcoming trial and initiated special prosecution in her case, Clay said.
“We're interested in anything that might call into question his credibility,” Clay said.
One message exchange in the screenshots appears to show Goldy saying that the woman owes him “big time” because a “judge is about to withdraw some warrants.” In other messages, Goldy appears to request photos and videos from the woman.
In another exchange, the woman asks if Goldy can get a court date continued and he appears to reply “I’m still waiting on those videos remember … I can see what I can do.”
“What was happening here, according to these screenshots, was that in return for her providing photographs and videos that Mr. Goldy was exercising his power as an elected commonwealth's attorney to provide favorable treatment for her,” Clay said.
Clay said he turned the screenshots over to the FBI. LEX 18 reached out to the FBI to confirm but did not hear back on Tuesday.
LEX 18 also reached out to Goldy and his attorney for comment but did not hear back.
