A Bardstown woman is facing four felony charges, including first-degree sodomy and incest, after a Nelson County grand jury indictment accuses her of sexually abusing a child younger than 12. Lauren Winans, 31, was arrested following the indictment and is scheduled to appear in court next month.
Winans was indicted and arrested on four charges related to sexual abuse of a child younger than 12 years old, according to pmg-ky2.com. The outlet reported she was indicted Thursday and arrested Thursday, and WLKY likewise reported the indictment came down Thursday. She faces two counts of first-degree sodomy, one count of first-degree incest, and one count of first-degree sexual abuse, per the same pmg-ky2.com report.
Same Alleged Victim Named in All Four Counts
In all four cases, the victim is the same and is listed as a family member of Winans, the report notes. The indictment alleges the offenses took place sometime between Jan. 1, 2022, and Nov. 20, 2022. According to the indictment language cited in that account, Winans is accused of committing first-degree sodomy by engaging in deviate sexual intercourse with a person less than 12 years of age, and of committing incest by having sexual intercourse or deviate sexual intercourse with a person she knew to be an ancestor who was less than 12 years old.
KFOX reported that the alleged crimes occurred between Jan. 1 and Nov. 20, 2022, matching the timeframe in the indictment. That report, attributing information to the New York Post, said it remained unclear how Winans and the alleged victim were related.
Bond, Custody Details, and No-Contact Order
WLKY reported that Winans was being held in the LaRue County Detention Center. Judge Charles Simms III ordered that Winans have no contact with the victim as a condition of release, per the same account.
Kentucky State Police Detective Travis Dalton is investigating the case, and Shelly Miller of the 11th Judicial Circuit has been appointed as prosecutor, the report states. Winans is scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. on Nov. 5 in Nelson Circuit Court.
Under Kentucky law, first-degree sodomy and first-degree sexual abuse are codified offenses, with the sodomy charge carrying Class A felony status as alleged in the indictment. The case remains pending, and no plea, conviction, or other final disposition has been reported.
