Judge Dawn Gentry faces misconduct charges. Here's what happened and what happens next.

Julia Fair | Cincinnati Enquirer

Show Caption Hide Caption Judge Gentry hearing: What we know What you need to know about the Judge Dawn Gentry hearing.

Update: This judge has been temporarily suspended from the bench. Read our coverage here to learn more.

Sexual propositions, an annoying guitar and alcohol in the office. This is not your average public courtroom tale.

The state investigated Kenton County Family Court Judge Dawn Gentry who now faces nine charges that accuse her of using sex, campaign contributions and retaliation as tools in her judgeship, according to documents released by the state Wednesday.

The Enquirer first reported the judge was at the center of an investigation by Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission, the only entity in the state that can punish a sitting judge.

Gentry denied almost all charges, according to the Notice of Formal Proceedings and Charges. She admitted there was one inappropriate joke she received and did not reply to on Snapchat and that she appointed "acquaintances" to family court positions that handled custody cases.

So, what exactly happened? What happens next? Here's what you need to know:

Who's who:

Stephen Penrose - Former Bromley Christian Church pastor the judge hired and had an affair with, according to the charges.

- Former Bromley Christian Church pastor the judge hired and had an affair with, according to the charges. Katherine Schulz - Attorney who the judge hoped would join her in a threesome with Penrose, according to the charges.

- Attorney who the judge hoped would join her in a threesome with Penrose, according to the charges. Laura Aubrey - The judge's secretary. Gentry and Penrose engaged in sexual activities with her at work, according to the charges.

- The judge's secretary. Gentry and Penrose engaged in sexual activities with her at work, according to the charges. Delana Sanders - Attorney who was appointed to the panel after she and her husband, Kenton County Commonwealth Attorney Rob Sanders, donated thousands to the judge's reelection campaign.

- Attorney who was appointed to the panel after she and her husband, Kenton County Commonwealth Attorney Rob Sanders, donated thousands to the judge's reelection campaign. Mike Hummel - Attorney who claimed he was removed from the panel after not donating the maximum amount to the judge's reelection campaign.

- Attorney who claimed he was removed from the panel after not donating the maximum amount to the judge's reelection campaign. Kelly Blevins - School liaison officer who supported the judge's opponent in the 2018 election.

- School liaison officer who supported the judge's opponent in the 2018 election. Dawn Gentry - One of two Family Court judges in Kenton County. She earns approximately $136,900 a year deciding the fate of Northern Kentucky families’ most sensitive issues in court, including adoption, custody, neglect and abuse, child support, divorce, domestic violence and paternity cases.

Gentry's chambers: Sex, robes and rock and roll

The judge is accused of seeking to or having sex with people she employed and appointed to a panel designed to help abused children. There are three people connected to those claims.

Katherine Schulz reportedly quit a panel the judge appointed her to after the judge flirted with her via Snapchat, pressured her to seduce the judge’s husband and asked her to join the judge and a former church pastor in a threesome.

That former pastor is Stephen Penrose, who the judge hired as her case specialist after she reportedly asked the former specialist, Meredith Smith, to resign. Then, Gentry gave Penrose a salary $10,000 more than Smith’s, according to payroll records The Enquirer obtained through a Kentucky Open Records Act Request.

"You hired Stephen Penrose because you were engaged in a personal relationship with him, not on the basis of merit," investigators wrote.

Penrose and Gentry were in a band together, too, called South of Cincy. Penrose played guitar and Gentry was the bassist. The band's Facebook page was taken down Wednesday evening after reports of the investigation surfaced.

State investigators claimed Gentry and Penrose had a personal sexual relationship. Gentry also "improperly delegated judicial functions," to Penrose, according to the charges.

The investigation also claimed that the two engaged in sexual activities in a courthouse office during work hours with Gentry's secretary, Laura Aubrey. Gentry also approved inaccurate time sheets for Penrose and Aubrey, according to the charges.

Money and her re-election campaign

The state alleged the judge appointed attorney Delana Sanders to the panel in exchange for her husband Kenton County Commonwealth Attorney Rob Sanders' support. The Sanders donated quadruple the amount Mike Hummel donated to Gentry’s campaign. Hummel was removed from the panel shortly after the election, he told The Enquirer.

The Sanders donated a combined total of $3,450. Hummel donated $750, according to public campaign finance records.

The state claimed Gentry coerced attorneys on the panel designed to help abused children to donate the maximum amount to her 2018 reelection campaign.

Gentry, a Republican, became judge in 2016 when outgoing Gov. Matt Bevin picked her to fill a vacancy. She was re-elected to a four-year-term in 2018.

The judge, according to the charges, also required panel members to serve on her campaign's finance committee and asked an attorney to put up a campaign sign while they were in court.

Retaliation

When people didn't do what the judge wanted, she retaliated, state investigators claim.

She retaliated against:

Former case specialist Meredith Smith for not sufficiently supporting the judge's campaign.

Attorney Mike Hummel for failing to make the maximum donation to her campaign and declining to campaign on your behalf by removing him from the panel.

Attorneys who did not support her campaign by delaying hearing dates for their cases.

School liaison officer Kelly Blevins for supporting her opponent in the 2018 election.

It seems Gentry wasn't honest with the commission about some of their inquiries.

"You failed to be candid and honest with the Commission in a previous inquiry regarding

the appointment of Ms. Sanders and the firing of Ms. Smith and Mr. Hummel, as well as about the quality of Mr. Hummel’s work on the GAL panel," the documents read.

What is she charged with?

The specific charges are:

Coercion to participate in judicial campaign. Retaliation for failure to support judicial campaign. Facilities and time sheet falsification. Retaliation against school employees. Held meetings with her Guardian Ad Litem panel, guardians that a court appoints to watch after someone during a case, without inviting private attorneys who also represented individuals in the case. Harassment and Retaliation Against Katherine Schulz Inappropriate hiring and relationship with Mr. Penrose. Hiring and appointing court staff not based on merit. Failure to be candid and honest with the commission.

Now what?

Now that charges have been filed, the judge will face a disciplinary hearing, likely to be held somewhere in Northern Kentucky, within the next two or three months. No date has been set for the hearing.

Possible punishments can include anything from confidential reprimands to removal from office.

That hearing will be open to the public.

Julia is the Northern Kentucky government reporter through the Report For America program. An anonymous donor pledged to cover half of the local donor portion of her grant-funded position with The Enquirer. If you want to support the work Julia does, email her editor Carl Weiser at cweiser@cincinna.gannett.com to find out how you can help fund her work.

Do you know something she should know? Send her a note at jfair@enquirer.com and follow her on twitter at @JFair_Reports.

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