Kentucky state representative facing domestic abuse charges resigns

(The Center Square) – An eastern Kentucky state legislator facing charges of spousal abuse resigned abruptly Tuesday.

State Rep. Robert Goforth, R-East Bernstadt, sent a letter to Gov. Andy Beshear saying that “with a heavy heart,” he stepped down effective immediately.

“At this time, family and personal circumstances demand my full attention and focus,” he wrote.

Goforth represented the 89th District, which covers all of Jackson and portions of Laurel and Madison counties. By Tuesday evening, the district’s page on the Kentucky General Assembly’s website listed it as a vacant seat.

On April 21, 2020, a Laurel County Sheriff’s officer arrested Goforth on charges of strangulation, assault, domestic violence and terroristic threatening.

A release from the sheriff’s office at that time said a woman arrived at the 911 Dispatch Center in London and claimed she had an altercation with Goforth at their house with three small children there.

Deputies noted marks on her forehead, neck and arms and bruises on her leg. During the incident, the woman claimed Goforth said he would kill her.

The woman was later identified as his wife, and she eventually issued a statement calling for her husband to not face prosecution.

In January, 10 Kentucky residents petitioned the General Assembly calling for Goforth’s impeachment, citing the criminal case and a letter sent to voters in his district, allegedly written by his wife, to “impact the outcome” of the case.

That petition was eventually dismissed by a special committee of state House members looking into impeachment proceedings after determined lawmakers could be expelled but not impeached.

The legal case against Goforth continues. The London Sentinel-Echo reported on Wednesday that a hearing to potentially suppress evidence was delayed last week. The hearing was to focus on a recording of an interview that has since become missing.

Kyle Gray, then a sheriff’s detective who conducted the interview with Goforth’s wife, was not present at the hearing. Instead, another sheriff’s detective who was at the interview attended. Laurel Circuit Judge Michael Caperton ruled that Gray should be at the hearing.

In addition, a lawyer representing Ashley Goforth appeared before the court and requested she not be required to testify in the case, saying she could potentially face felony perjury charges if she was required to testify. Caperton said he would give her attorney and prosecutors a chance to submit written arguments before deciding.

At that time, the lawyer for Robert Goforth asked the evidence suppression hearing take place after Caperton rules on Ashley Goforth testifying.

A pretrial conference is scheduled for Dec. 16, according to court records.

A special election will be called by Beshear to fill the remainder of Goforth’s two-year term, which will run through the end of next year.

Goforth himself first won the seat in a February 2018 special election. He won again that November as well as in November 2020, earning nearly 71% and 15,000 votes despite the charges he faces. In 2019, he also challenged then-incumbent Gov. Matt Bevin in a Republican primary. He won 39% of the vote, more than 101,000 votes, in that race.

The state House now has two vacancies. One-time Republican Floor Leader John “Bam” Carney of Campbellsville died last month.

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