LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Nelson County man was charged with criminal conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence in connection with the death of Crystal Rogers.

Joseph L. Lawson, 32, pleaded not guilty Thursday in Nelson Circuit Court and his bond was set at $500,000 cash.

The indictment is the first in the case involving her murder. Rogers disappeared in 2015, and her body was never found. 

Joseph Lawson booking photo

Pictured: the booking photo for Joseph L. Lawson. 

The indictment, which does not mention Rogers by name, says the crime was committed in Nelson County on July 3 and/or July 4, 2015, when Lawson "agreed to aid one or more persons in the planning or commission of the crime or an attempt or solicitation to commit the crime when he, and/or, a co-conspirator intentionally caused the death of another."

On July 5, 2015, Crystal Rogers was reported missing by her mother. 

Lawson is not charged with Rogers' murder, but prosecutors instead charged him with the lesser offense of conspiracy, meaning they believe he was involved in some fashion with whoever killed Rogers. 

The maximum sentence for the conspiracy charge is 10-20 years in prison. 

In addition, the indictment charges Lawson with complicity to tampering with physical evidence when he "destroyed, mutilates, concealed, removed or alters physical evidence." The maximum penalty for that charge is one to five years in prison. 

Attorney Kevin Coleman, who represents Lawson, acknowledged his client's case is in relation to the death of Rogers but declined to comment further.

Special Assistant to the Attorney General Shane Young, who is prosecuting the case, declined to comment. Young is the Hardin County Commonwealth's Attorney. 

Sherry Ballard, Crystal's mother, declined to comment, saying she has been advised not to speak with the media right now. 

However, in a later Facebook post, Ballard said news of the arrest was "overwhelming. 

"Eight years I've waited for this day to come. Even though it brings me so much joy to think Justice is coming it also brings the fact that this is real and what my family has been going through the last year years is real. ... I honestly think I've felt every emotion that God has given us." 

Lawson was indicted on the conspiracy charge July 24, but the case was sealed, according to court records. He was first scheduled to be arraigned in August but was in the hospital, according to the records. He was still in the hospital during his arraignment Thursday. 

He was charged in a sealed indictment for tampering June 21. His bond in the tampering case is $50,000 cash. 

Court files show a Kentucky State Police detective and an FBI agent as complaining witnesses in Lawson's case. Lawson is scheduled to be back in court in front of Nelson Circuit Court Judge Charles Simms III on Oct. 26.

During his arraignment, Lawson was asked by the judge if he understood the murder conspiracy charge and replied, "kind of but yes sir," according to a video of the proceedings. 

Young told the judge it was a "very complex case" and there was a lot of evidence to be turned over to the defense.

Coleman told the judge he didn't know a lot about the case yet "but I'm sure there’s going to lots to do," according to the arraignment video. 

The FBI, which has been handling the case, said last year that evidence found in connection to the Rogers case was sent to the FBI lab in Quantico. Virginia.

Federal agents in October 2022 wrapped up a five-day search at a Bardstown farm owned by the family of Brooks Houck. Houck was named a suspect just months after Rogers went missing in 2015, but has never been charged.

He was Rogers' boyfriend at the time and father of her youngest child and also is considered to be the last person to see her alive. 

Over the years, the Houck family farm, the homes of Brooks Houck and his brother, Nick, have been searched multiple times, along with a storage unit belonging to Rogers. In 2021, the driveway of a home built by Houck was ripped up by the FBI. The farm has been searched several times in the past.

Rogers was last seen on July 3, 2015. The next day, her car was found on the side of the Bluegrass Parkway with her purse, phone and keys still inside. But there was no sign of her.

Rogers' case has gone from the Nelson County Sheriff's Office to Kentucky State Police and ultimately the FBI in 2020.

The FBI is also still investigating the death of Rogers' father, Tommy Ballard, who was shot and killed in 2016 while hunting on his own property more than a year after Rogers went missing.

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