NEWPORT, Ky. -- A judge sentenced a 71-year-old former Campbell County judge Friday to 20 years in prison for human trafficking and other sex crimes.
Tim Nolan, who previously served as a judge, school board member and city solicitor, forced 19 victims to perform sex acts, including seven who were minors under 16. The crimes took place between 2010 and 2017.
Many of the victims were addicted to heroin. Some were young runaways. Some were already at treatment centers that he visited. Assistant Attorney General Barbara Whaley, the special prosecutor in the case, said Nolan would pay or threaten the victims, saying he could use his authority to get them in trouble with a parole officer, take their children away or have them arrested. Nolan told his victims that no one would ever believe them if they said what he did to them.
"Because of my time with him, I don't know that I will ever be the same," one victim said in a written statement. "I have no self confidence or worth. I hate myself and feel dirty for all the things I had to do with him."
Whaley said Nolan was only caught because one teenage victim told a school counselor what had happened. The girl's mother was also one of Nolan's victims.
"We can't really imagine the courage that took," Whaley said.
In addition to the prison sentence, Nolan must take a sexual offense class, submit to a HIV test and DNA sample. He will be registered as a sex offender for life. He was ordered to have no contact with the victims, engage in no social media and view no pornography of any kind. If he is released from prison, he will spend five years on probation and will need approval to be with or around children. Nolan will also pay $110,000 in asset forfeiture and to the Human Trafficking Victims Fund.
"I apologize to all my victims," Nolan said, reading a prepared statement. "I accept responsibility for all the heartache and the trauma I have caused. Hopefully, my financial punishment will help those needing a hand in overcoming addictions."
The former judge faced 30 charges as more victims came forward after he was first charged last year. The indictment had to be superseded twice as investigators found more victims. If he'd been found guilty of all the crimes, Nolan could have been sentenced to as long as 70 years in prison.
Nolan pleaded guilty to 21 crimes in February as part of a plea deal. He had asked the judge to withdraw his plea in March, claiming there was some type of conflict of interest regarding his attorneys. Nolan presented no evidence or witnesses to support his claim Friday.
"Your crimes are reprehensible," Judge Kathy Lape said," and now you must pay your debt."
