The Kentucky sheriff charged with shooting and killing a judge in his chambers on Thursday is accused in a lawsuit filed earlier this week of failing to investigate allegations that a local deputy was sexually assaulting a woman while she was under house arrest.
Letcher County Sheriff Shawn Steins, 43, testified Monday in a lawsuit filed by two women, one of whom claims a deputy forced her to have sex in the same judge’s office where the shooting occurred. The woman claims the deputy repeatedly sexually assaulted her over a six-month period in exchange for avoiding jail time.
The lawsuit alleges the sheriff’s “deliberate failure to properly train and supervise” his deputies.
Kentucky State Police believe a body discovered by a couple livestreaming is that of a man who opened fire on a motorist.
Arrest warrant photo of Letcher County Sheriff Sean Stines. Stines is charged with one count of first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of District Judge Kevin Mullins. (Leslie County Detention Center via The Associated Press)
The testimony came just three days before District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, was shot multiple times at the Letcher County Courthouse following an altercation with Stinnes in Whitesburg, Kentucky State Police said. Mullins was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said Stines was taken into custody at the scene without incident and was charged with first-degree murder. He is being held in the nearby Leslie County Detention Center, two counties away.
It’s unclear what the two were arguing about or if it had any connection to the lawsuit.
The case stems from the case of former Deputy Sheriff Ben Fields, who pleaded guilty in January to raping a female inmate while on home detention.
Fields, a former deputy corrections officer, was sentenced earlier this year to six months in prison followed by six and a half years of probation for rape, sexual intercourse, perjury and tampering with an inmate monitoring device, according to the Mountain Eagle. Three charges against the second woman were dismissed after she died of a drug overdose.
The shooting on the Kentucky interstate added to a string of violent incidents on highways that have left American drivers on edge.


Authorities say District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, (left), was killed in his chambers by Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines, 43. (Kentucky State Court, Letcher County Sheriff’s Office)
Inmates on house arrest are required to pay for electronic monitoring, but the women alleged that Fields offered to waive the fees if they “did a favour,” the outlet reported.
Fields disabled the women’s devices and told the monitoring company that they no longer needed them because his bail conditions had changed. He then forced the women to perform sex acts under the threat of arrest, according to the Mountain Eagle.
The judge’s murder sent shock waves through the close-knit Appalachian town of Whitesburg, a county seat about 145 miles southeast of Lexington and with about 1,700 residents.
The county’s chief prosecutor, Matt Butler, recused himself and his office from the investigation, citing Mullins’ social and family ties, and said he had received an outpouring of sympathy.
“We all know each other here, and anyone in Letcher County will tell you that Judge Mullins and I are sisters, married, and have children who are cousins ​​but act like siblings,” Judge Butler said in a statement to The Associated Press from her office. “As such, I have already taken steps to resign from myself and my entire office.”
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The judge was killed Thursday at the Letcher County Courthouse in Kentucky. (Google Maps)
Mullins served as a judge in the 47th Judicial District, overseeing juvenile cases, city and county ordinances, misdemeanors, traffic violations, arraignments, felony probable cause hearings, claims under $2,500, civil actions under $5,000, voluntary and involuntary psychiatric hospitalizations and domestic violence cases, according to the court’s website.
Mullins has served as Letcher County’s district judge since being appointed by former Gov. Steve Beshear in 2009 and re-elected the following year. According to the Drug Summit program, where he spoke in 2022, Mullins promoted substance abuse treatment for people involved with the justice system and helped hundreds of residents access inpatient treatment facilities.
Fox News’ Louis Casiano and The Associated Press contributed to this report.