‘Running a brothel’: Judge killed in chambers by sheriff was part of sextortion scheme where women on house arrest exchanged sex for special treatment, lawyer says

A Kentucky judge who was gunned down in his chambers by a local sheriff was allegedly “running a brothel” out of his courtroom, according to a witness from a separate criminal case, with her claim being played up as a “compelling defense” for the shooting in court.

“He does have some videotapes of some stuff in the judge’s chambers,” alleged witness Sabrina Adkins told police in an audio recording obtained by NewsNation from a criminal case involving one of ex-sheriff Shawn Stines’ old deputies, Ben Fields, who was convicted and sentenced this year to six months in jail — and nearly a decade of probation — for rape, sodomy, perjury and tampering with a prisoner monitoring device, according to The Mountain Eagle.

“Just with girls, sexual and stuff,” Adkins said. “I’ve seen one partly.”

Adkins, a defendant who was placed on house arrest, claimed in the audio recording that the footage she saw showed slain U.S. District Judge Kevin Mullins having sex with women in exchange for special treatment. She filed a federal lawsuit in January 2022 and Stines — a close friend of Mullins’ for roughly three decades — had just been deposed in the ongoing case on Sep. 16, three days before the shooting, according to the Louisville Courier Journal.

“I seen Judge Mullins having sex with a girl … in the judge’s chambers,” Adkins told police during the Fields investigation, noting how she had sex with Fields once in the office.

Adkins outlined what she allegedly went through in the complaint for her civil suit, saying Mullins’ chambers served as a secret haven for Fields and other “higher ups” due to the fact that there weren’t any surveillance cameras present.

“There were no cameras,” the complaint says. It describes how Fields allegedly took off Adkins’ ankle monitor and told her she “would not have to pay the associated fees any longer, but could remain out on home incarceration” if she performed sexual favors for him.

According to the complaint, Fields met Adkins at least six times in Mullin’s chambers to receive those favors.

“During these meetings, Defendant Fields’ behavior escalated from flirtatious comments to forcible kissing, to oral sex, to intercourse with Plaintiff, all of which occurred at the Letcher County Courthouse after hours, in Judge Mullins’ Chambers,” the complaint says. “Plaintiff was coerced and compelled to comply with Defendant Fields’ advances given Defendant Fields’ position of power, and because she could not afford to pay for the ankle monitor and did not want to return to the Letcher County Jail.”

Late last month, Adkins’ claim was brought up in court — as was the Fields case — by Stines’ defense lawyer, Jeremy Bartley, who believes Adkins’ police interview and Stines’ deposition in her civil case are “going to be crucial” in defending the former lawman.

“I do believe that that is a piece,” Bartley said at a Nov. 25 hearing. “This is a large story. It’s a story that, in some ways, is difficult to tell. We look forward to sharing a more complete version of that as we go through this judicial process.”

Speaking to NewsNation on Friday, Adkins’ attorney Ned Pillersdorf said he wasn’t surprised by Bartley’s emphasis on his client’s civil suit and claims to police.

“It’s like they were running a brothel out of that courtroom,” Pillersdorf said.

During his deposition, Stines allegedly denied having any involvement in the sextortion scheme that Fields and Mullins are accused of being part of. He said he didn’t find out until after the lawsuit was filed, according to the Courier Journal.

While the circumstances surrounding Mullins’ death are still unclear, investigators do know that the two of them got into a verbal dispute before the shooting.

“We know that it was an argument between the two … but what exactly transpired prior to the shots being fired, that’s still something we’re trying to get answers to,” State Trooper Matt Gayheart told reporters in September, according to local news affiliate WJHL.

Stines allegedly walked into the courthouse that day and told employees and others who were there that he needed to talk to Mullins alone before the two entered the judge’s chambers. Stines allegedly shot the judge, then surrendered to police. He has pleaded not guilty to murder of a public official.