WHITESBURG, Ky. — Shocking new allegations have emerged against slain Kentucky Judge Kevin Mullins, who was fatally shot inside his courthouse chambers last year. A woman has come forward claiming that Mullins abused his position of authority to pressure women into providing sexual favors in exchange for leniency in the justice system, raising further questions about a possible culture of misconduct in Letcher County.
In an interview on Banfield this week, Tya Adams said she first encountered Mullins when he worked as an assistant commonwealth attorney. She alleges he introduced her to a circle of acquaintances who hosted sex parties where young women were coerced into performing sexual acts, sometimes for money.
Adams said she felt trapped and powerless, fearing that refusing could result in retaliation through the courts or even threats involving Child Protective Services.
“They would make sure to make you feel as small and degraded as possible to take your power away,” she recalled, noting that while the encounters may have appeared consensual, she and others were too young and vulnerable to truly consent.
Adams added that she was warned to remain silent, believing that the misconduct was widely known but ignored.
“Who would believe it anyway? Because the whole town was doing it. Nobody cares. They’re all swingers. It’s all a big party to them. It was just so normal.”
Her claims were echoed by Sarah Davis, a former deputy jailer at the Letcher County Jail, who said she had also heard troubling stories during her tenure. Davis alleged that Mullins once personally invited her to a sex party — an offer she declined. She described the broader accounts as “nasty and sickening.”
The allegations follow Mullins’ shocking death on September 19, 2024, when Sheriff Shawn Mickey Stines entered the judge’s private chambers after having lunch with him earlier that day. Security footage showed the two men exchanging cell phones before an argument escalated. Stines locked the chamber door, confronted Mullins, and then fired eight shots, killing him instantly.
Stines, who later turned himself in, now faces murder charges. Rumors quickly circulated that the judge had been sexually involved with the sheriff’s underage daughter, though investigators have not confirmed those claims.
Authorities continue to examine both the circumstances of Mullins’ death and the troubling allegations of misconduct that have surfaced since. Audio recordings obtained during the investigation are reportedly under review and may shed further light on whether a sex-for-favors scheme existed.
For now, the community of Whitesburg remains divided, grappling with the legacy of a slain judge whose life — and death — have exposed deeply unsettling allegations of corruption and abuse of power in Letcher County.
