An Owensboro businessman charged with rape, sodomy, and bribery will have his case tried in Daviess County.
The judge overseeing the case has rejected a request by the prosecutor to move the trial to Hardin County.
Billy Joe Miles is accused of assaulting a woman last summer who was serving as a home health care worker at his house.
Prosecutors wanted to move the trial out of Daviess County, arguing that they wouldn’t be able to find an unbiased jury pool because of Miles’ prominence in the community.
The 77-year-old has run multiple businesses in the area, is a former chairman of the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees, and is the father of state Representative Suzanne Miles, whose district includes part of Daviess County.
The Messenger-Inquirer reports Special Circuit Judge Kelly Mark Easton said prosecutors failed to prove that the trial needed to be moved.
The trial is scheduled to start January 16th.
Judge Easton has said that he’ll hold a hearing with mental health experts before that date to determine if Miles is competent to stand trial.
The Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting did a series of stories before Miles was charged.
