Witness Alleges Slain Kentucky Judge Had Sex With Prisoners in His Chambers

A Kentucky judge shot and killed in his chambers by the county sheriff earlier this year was part of a sex-for-favors scheme, according to a witness in the case against a deputy convicted in January of raping a prisoner in 2022.

Sabrina Adkina, 43, told investigators that the deputy, Ben Fields, had videos of “girls, sexual and stuff” in the chambers of District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, who was shot to death in his chambers of September 19 by Letcher County Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines, 43, according to recordings of interviews obtained by NewsNation’s Ashley Banfield. Although Stines has pleaded not guilty, no information has been provided about a motive.

Adkins testified against Fields after he pleaded guilty to raping her.  She was on home monitoring while he was a court security officer for the sheriff ’s office and worked a side job for monitoring company Eastern Kentucky Correctional Services, the Mountain Eagle reported. He was initially indicted on seven felony counts and one misdemeanor but pleaded guilty to third-degree rape, third-degree sodomy, two counts of tampering with a prisoner monitoring device, and second degree perjury and was sentenced to six months in prison and 6 1/2 years probation.

The other charges against him were dropped because a second victim had died, and Fields was never charged with abusing his position as a deputy or a jailer.

Adkins was one of two women who filed a civil lawsuit against Fields, which also named Stines as a defendant,  saying he failed to train or supervise Fields adequately. Stines was deposed in that case a few days before the murder of Mullins. He claimed he had no knowledge of Fields’ activities until the criminal charges against him were filed, and he fired the deputy at that point.

But Adkins told investigators that she and other prisoners not only had sex with Fields in exchange for bail, but she saw a video showing Mullins having sex with a prisoner in his chambers.  At first she said she’d seen the video of Fields and “some higher ups,” but moments later admitted “I seen Judge Mullins having sex with a girl.”

“It’s like they were running a brothel out of that courtroom,” Adkins attorney, Ned Pillersdorf, told NewsNation.

According to the lawsuit, Adkins said she met Fields at least six times in Mullins’ chambers for sex after he told her she wouldn’t have to wear — or pay for — an ankle monitor while on home arrest — if she did so, Law&Crime reported. Mullins’ chambers were used after hours, the complaint says, because “there were no cameras.”

But surveillance cameras in Mullins’ chambers captured Stines shooting the judge as he sat at his desk. It’s not clear when those cameras were installed.

Stines and Mullins got into an argument at lunch on the day of the shooting, and Stines came back to the courthouse that afternoon. He went in to see the judge, shot him, then left the chambers and surrendered. He has since resigned his position.

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[Featured image: Mickey Stines/Letcher County Sheriff’s Office and Kevin D. Mullins/47th Judicial District]