Published: August 06, 2009 11:53 pm      

Howard resigns as Elliott jailer

Heads to prison after rape conviction

Sandy Hook — More than a month after being convicted of rape and sentenced to 12 years in prison, Charles Howard has resigned his position as Elliott County jailer.

Howard stepped down after being informed in a letter from Elliott Judge-Executive David Blair that Ohio Casualty Insurance Group would be revoking his public official bond effective Aug. 16, and, absent receipt of a new bond, he would no longer be qualified to hold the office.

The 51-year-old Howard, who was in his second term as jailer, struck a defiant tone in his hand-written resignation letter, which was dated July 29 and forwarded to Elliott Commonwealth’s Attorney David Flatt by Howard’s attorney, Michael Curtis.

“I want to emphasize by resigning that I am not admitting any wrongdoing and once my appeal is successful, I intend to reclaim my position as jailer,” the letter states. “As such, this resignation in my mind is temporary. I expect to be vindicated and cleared of these malicious allegations.”

Howard testified during his trial that he dropped out of school in the eighth grade and could barely read or write. However, his one-page letter is neatly printed with no misspellings.

To replace Howard as jailer, Blair appointed Mark E. Lewis, who placed second behind Howard in the 2006 Democratic primary in Elliott, and who was designated by the fiscal court to transport prisoners after Howard was arrested in September of last year. Lewis will serve the remainder of Howard’s term, which expires at the end of 2010.

Elliott County has not operated its own jail since 1986, when the state ordered the county to close its lockup. All prisoners from Elliott are transported to jails in other counties to be held, and Elliott pays fees to those counties for housing its inmates.

County jailer is a constitutional office in Kentucky. In counties that do not operate their own jails, the jailer’s principal duty is transporting prisoners, although Kentucky Revised Statutes state they can also serve as bailiffs in circuit and district courts.

A Boyd Circuit Court jury on June 29 found Howard guilty of raping a 27-year-old Boyd County woman while transporting her from Sandy Hook to the Boyd County Detention Center. The woman had been arrested in Elliott County on some outstanding misdemeanor warrants.

The victim testified that Howard drove her to an isolated spot off U.S. 60 in the Rush area and made her have sex with him. She said Howard held her down in the front seat of his vehicle as he was raping her.

Under state sentencing guidelines, Howard will have to serve 85 percent of his sentence before he can be considered for parole. He also will have to complete a sex offender treatment program in prison before he can begin earning time that will count toward his parole eligibility.

Howard is currently being held in the Greenup County Detention Center, according to the Kentucky Online Offender Lookup System.

KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.