A 31-year-old woman from Bardstown has been indicted in connection with four felony crimes of the sexual abuse of a child under 12 years of age, including first-degree sodomy and incest, with life in prison being a possible penalty on each charge.
The grand jury filed an indictment on Wednesday against Lauren Winans, 31, who was arrested Thursday, according to reports by The Kentucky Standard.
According to the indictment, the offenses happened in Nelson County between January 1st and November 20th, 2022. Prosecutors claim that Winans illegally touched the child and committed sexual acts on or with the child.
Four counts have been filed, including first-degree sodomy, incest, and two counts of first-degree sexual abuse, all involving the victim under 12 years old.
Incest alleges sexual intercourse or deviant sexual intercourse with a child relative under 12 years of age. According to the court documents, Winans is said to have committed those offenses against the same victim her relative described in the documents in all four counts reported by The Kentucky Standard.
Under Kentucky law, first-degree sodomy and incest are Class A felonies, where the penalty is 20 to 50 years or even life imprisonment for a victim under 12 years old.
Also, first-degree sexual abuse is a Class C felony where the victim is under 12, and the possible penalty is 5 to 10 years of imprisonment plus fines ranging from $1,000 to $10,000.
Post-release supervision of five years should be added to the sentence in case of any felony sex crime, including incest.
Kentucky State Police Post 4 in Elizabethtown investigated the case; its jurisdiction covers Nelson County and seven other counties in the state. The special prosecutor of the 11th Judicial Circuit, Shelly Miller, presented the case to the grand jury.
According to the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office report, state police are the lead investigating agency, and the sheriff’s office has no information about the accusations and is not involved in the investigation.
Lauren Winans has been booked into Nelson County Detention Center and later transferred to the LaRue County Detention Center. The bail was set at $250,000 cash.
Released, Winans will have to stay under house arrest from dusk to dawn, avoid alcohol or drug consumption, and have no contact with the alleged victim. Judge Charles Simms III imposed the no-contact order, according to The Kentucky Standard.
It remains unknown until Saturday whether Lauren Winans has posted bond or can speak through his lawyer about the charges.
She is scheduled to appear before Nelson Circuit Court at 9 a.m. on November 5th.
An indictment does not imply a guilty finding.
