Editor’s note: This story includes references to suicide. If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis or having thoughts of suicide, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988. If there is immediate danger, call 911.
The former Murray Police Department detective sergeant facing rape and sodomy charges involving a minor remains in custody, held on cash bonds totaling $70,000, after a judge denied his motions for bond reduction.
Filings related to those motions reveal that Justin Swope allegedly met the minor while on duty at a “Coffee with Cops” community outreach event and that prosecutors anticipate additional charges, including Class B felonies.
Swope, 44, of Almo, resigned from MPD following his arrest by the Kentucky State Police on May 20, according to press releases issued by both agencies within hours of the arrest. He was charged with six counts across two separate but related cases filed in Calloway and Trigg counties: two counts of third-degree rape and one count of third-degree sodomy in each county, all of which are Class D felonies.
Swope is accused of having a "sexual relationship" with a minor that began in 2018, when she was 15 years old. According to the citations filed in both cases, she described numerous sexual encounters with Swope, but the charges are based on specific alleged encounters investigators said were corroborated by photographic evidence.
The Trigg County charges date back to 2019, when Swope allegedly transported the juvenile to Land Between the Lakes and had sexual intercourse with the then-15-year-old in addition to digitally penetrating her and receiving oral sex from her, according to court documents.
The allegations underlying the Calloway County charges are nearly identical, except the alleged sexual activity took place at the victim’s residence in Calloway County when she was 17 years old.
Swope was arraigned in both cases the day after his arrest, with 56th Judicial District Division 2 Judge Matt Schalk presiding. Schalk’s district includes Trigg County, and he was appointed special judge in the Calloway case.
Schalk granted Swope’s request for a public defender at arraignment, but by the time he returned for preliminary hearings in Trigg and Calloway District Courts on May 26 and 27, respectively, he had hired Murray attorney Mitch Ryan to represent him.
Swope waived his right to a preliminary hearing in both cases, sending the charges to grand juries in the respective counties.
In Trigg District Court, Ryan moved the court to consider modifying his client’s bond to a secured property bond or a “more reasonable” cash bond, but the judge reserved ruling on the motion until after Swope’s preliminary hearing in the Calloway County case.
The next day, in Calloway District Court, Assistant Attorney General Richie Kemp entered his appearance as special prosecutor.
Ryan did not ask the court to take up his bond motion. Instead, noting Kemp’s recent appointment, he suggested that Schalk give the attorneys a few days to negotiate an agreement. Kemp advised the court that he would file a response if an agreement could not be reached.
Five days later, Ryan made a supplemental filing, advising the court that, in addition to having substantial community ties, family support and no criminal history, Swope’s pretrial assessment scores of zero demonstrate “an extremely low statistical risk” of him failing to appear for future court appearances or committing new crimes if released.
Kemp also filed his response that day, and in it, he painted a different picture of Swope.
The response argued that Swope posed a threat to himself and potentially others. Kemp noted that KSP detectives found a message Swope allegedly wrote to the victim stating he “would kill himself if his crimes were discovered.” During a recent interview, she told detectives that Swope made similar statements to her verbally on multiple occasions.
“Moreover, as this Court is undoubtedly aware,” Kemp wrote, “it is not a great distance for a suicidal person in the defendant’s current predicament to become homicidal.”
According to the filing, KSP detectives found dozens of firearms while executing a search warrant at Swope’s home, including handguns and AR-15s, along with a decommissioned rocket launcher, inert grenades and what Kemp described as an “excessive” amount of ammunition.
Detectives also found large tote bags and backpacks containing supplies for living off-grid stored in Swope’s living room, according to the filing. Kemp characterized Swope as a “doomsday prepper” and argued that the supplies could allow him to avoid detection for longer than the average person.
Kemp further advised that KSP’s investigation is ongoing and that detectives already have “vast amounts of evidence” obtained from electronic devices to support additional charges, including promoting a minor under 16 in a sexual performance, a Class B felony.
He described the addition of higher-level felony charges as imminent and said they could increase Swope’s likely maximum penalty to 70 years, giving him a greater incentive to flee.
“As stated above, if the defendant is released and law enforcement is tasked with taking him back into custody, which is not a far-fetched scenario if the Court grants the defendant’s motion for bond reduction, this defendant will pose a threat to the safety and lives of the public and the law enforcement officers with taking him back into custody,” Kemp wrote.
Schalk denied the motions for bond reduction. Swope remains incarcerated, although he is no longer housed at the McCracken County Jail, where he was initially lodged. The Sentinel confirmed he was transferred to another facility earlier this month.
Internal investigation records obtained by The Sentinel from MPD through open records requests show the department had previously examined allegations of inappropriate conduct involving Swope and a minor. A forthcoming Sentinel report will examine what the department knew, how it responded and what the records show happened afterward.
Individuals charged with crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Editor's note: The lede paragraph in this story was revised at 1:15 p.m. on June 18.
Former MPD detective arraigned in Calloway, Trigg sex-crime cases
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