A former chairman of the University of Kentucky's Board of Trustees is charged with raping a woman in July.
Seventy-six-year-old Billy Joe Miles was indicted by a Daviess County grand jury on Tuesday for charges of rape, sodomy and bribing a witness. The 29-year-old victim told investigators that Miles raped her at his home sometime around July 2.
The Daviess County Sheriff's Department confirmed the defendant is a former UK board member.
Miles was arrested, but was later released on a $150,000 cash bond.
He served three terms on the board between 1995 and 2013 and was chairman from 1999 to 2002.
Captain Bill Thompson with the Daviess County Sheriff’s Department said the alleged victim is a 29 year old woman who was an employee of a home health-care business that had been hired to care for Miles in his home.
The Owensboro Messenger – Inquirer reports that after the woman told investigators she had been sexually assaulted, evidence was collected both from her and from Miles’ home.
Miles is a prominent Owensboro businessman.
He’s the president of Miles Farm Supply and former board chairman of what was then Owensboro Medical Health System.
Besides serving as chair of the U-K board, he was also a board member for Owensboro Community and Technical College and was on the board of directors for Vanderbilt University Hospital.
Miles’ daughter, Suzanne Miles, is a state representative for the 7th House District which includes parts of Daviess, Henderson and Union Counties.