The murder of a county district judge allegedly by a local sheriff unraveled allegations of a decades-long sex ring being operated in Letcher County, Kentucky, as women shared stories of sexual coercion and drug abuse by local officials.

One of the women, Tya Adams, told the Daily Caller that the murder victim, District Judge Kevin Mullins, had been a key player in an alleged sex trafficking ring involving drugs and favor trading throughout the county’s court and prison system — a ring she said she was personally victimized by.

Adams, a recovered drug addict and former Letcher County inmate, released a speaking to the allegations.

“Sex trafficking, extortion, prison for profit, embezzlement. I mean, you name it, it’s going on in our courthouse,” she said on YouTube.

Adams told the Caller that she used to come to the courthouse in 2001 to learn office work, while her sister worked with the commonwealth’s attorney at the time. She alleges that while she was working there, Mullins paid her for sexual favors when she was 16 years old and that she was “groomed and ushered into sex work for the Letcher County Court higher-ups.”

Drugs were involved too, Adams claims, with cocaine allegedly being the drug of choice for Mullins.

Adams told the Caller that they used drugs and engaged sexual acts all over the courthouse, including in the chambers behind the room where Mullins was shot.

The 20,000 residents of Letcher County, Kentucky were shocked when footage was released showing what appeared to be the sheriff at the time, Shawn “Mickey” Stine, walking into Mullins’ office and allegedly firing six rounds into the judge in September 2024.

Stine was quickly arrested by Kentucky State Police (KSP) and now awaits trial. His lawyer has not returned the Daily Caller’s request for comment.

Adams’s allegations don’t stand alone. One reporter, NewsNation’s Brian Entin, interviewed three other women with various relations to Mullins who were willing to publicly corroborate different portions of these claims. Entin also referenced several more who he said had confirmed the allegations but requested to remain anonymous for various reasons, including their own safety.

These combined interviews, along with court documents and further reporting surrounding the murder, paint a picture of alleged high-level and widespread corruption.

One corrections officer compared the jail to a brothel, telling Entin that other officers would often have sex with inmates for favors or contraband. Sometimes, the corrections officer claimed, supervisors would even take inmates home for the night.

Entin also shared audio from an interview between a victim and state law enforcement before Mullins’ death. The victim said she saw a sex tape in which higher-ups, like Mullins, had sex with an inmate in the judge’s chambers in exchange for less jail time

Adams told the Caller that although she was never pushed into having sex while in jail, she saw others do it.

She added that Mullins’ misconduct continued until she was 20. Even after she left, Adams claimed, such actions allegedly continued through the courthouse and were “accepted as normal.”

Three days before Stine allegedly shot Mullins, Stine testified in a deposition regarding the federal civil case of Sabrina Adkins, who claimed that while jailed, she was coerced by former officer Ben Fields into performing sexual acts, according to WYMT.

According to court records reviewed by WYMT, the deposition alleged that when Adkins shared concerns she would be unable to pay for her home incarceration ankle monitor, Fields allegedly said that they “could work something out.”

Fields had previously pleaded guilty to rape, sodomy, tampering with a monitoring device and perjury, but holds that the relationship with Adkins was consensual, according to WYMT.

Another plaintiff, Jennifer Hill, joined the civil case and shared several claims that she “was coerced and compelled to comply” with Fields’ instructions, given his “position of power over her,” the television station reported.

Hill died in 2023, before her case went to trial, and her claims were dismissed from the lawsuit. Adams told the Caller that she believed Hill may have been killed with a “hotshot,” or a cocktail of drugs given against one’s will to make a death look like an overdose.

When Stine was arrested following his alleged shooting of Mullins, body camera footage showed the suspect paranoid and in fear for his life. “I’ve seen the look… Don’t shoot me,” Stine told members of the KSP.

Police needed to reassure Stine that they had known him for years and that they had their bodycams on in an effort to make him feel more comfortable.

Court documents showed that Stine was given a triage assessment from the Leslie County Detention Center that claimed he was in an “active state of psychosis” four days after the shooting, according to WYMT.

“He appears disoriented and is only aware of things jail staff tell him. He has no recollection of the recent past. He does report that he has ‘some’ paranoia because he is unsure where he is at and is told he is incarcerated,” a social worker wrote, according to WYMT. “He does not appear to understand his charge and is unaware of his surroundings. He denies any suicidal and homicidal ideations. He does present to be responding to internal stimuli during the evaluation. Mr. Stine should continue at high risk level. He has had episodes of combativeness, which has required pepper spray.”

However, the uneasiness and feeling of being watched seemed to extend beyond Stine. Many women told Entin they were afraid to speak publicly. One local person investigating the incident told the Caller that she feels she is being followed. Adams told the Caller that she also fears for her life, saying, “This ain’t about a damn sex ring, this is organized cartel crime, and I connected the dots […] making me a liability.”

Adams told the Caller that the Addiction Recovery Center (ARC) in Louisa played a large role in the corruption. She said that although ARC is supposed to help those struggling with drugs in the community, it instead functioned as a revolving door, allegedly keeping vulnerable women reliant on drugs, which makes them easier prey for sexual predators.

ARC is currently under investigation, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Adams told the Caller that she hopes those involved are arrested before she is silenced as well.

In a statement to the Caller, KSP said the investigation is active and ongoing, and pointed to an initial statement and interview. KSP said nothing about the accusations of a county-wide sex ring.