LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The wife of former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel said she holds herself accountable for the corruption scandal that rocked southern Indiana.
Misty Noel pleaded guilty Thursday to five counts of theft and five counts of tax evasion, the original charges filed against her.
"That's my fault, and I hold myself accountable for that," Noel said in court Thursday. "Because of that, I failed my community and I failed my children."
At the hearing in May, the prosecution and defense presented a conditional plea deal. As part of the plea deal, Misty Noel would plead guilty, repay $660,806.64 in restitution to New Chapel EMS and $29,547 to the Indiana Department of Revenue, and serve up to six years — 18 months in prison followed by 4.5 years of probation.
After accepting Misty Noel's plea deal Thursday, Judge Larry Medlock called the case "an assault on the trusting citizens of Clark County."
As Noel was handcuffed at the end of the hearing, Medlock told her she should be proud of her daughters. She was led out of the courtroom and taken Harrison County to begin serving her prison sentence within the Indiana Department of Corrections.
She will serve time in prison and pay restitution for her crimes.
"Unfortunately, you partnered with your estranged husband in this abuse of power," Medlock said. "By your own admission, you turned trusting citizens into victims of your greed as well."
"When we came here, it was almost how dare you prosecute our king or king maker and his family," special prosecutor Ric Hertel said at the hearing. "Now, there's three convicted felons in the Noel family. We go from lifestyle of the rich and famous to a pulling back of the curtain basically exposing common thieves."
Defense attorney Bart McMahon said his client wasn't her estranged husband's partner in these crimes.
"The notion that this was a Bonnie and Clyde type endeavor, I don't believe that," McMahon said. "I've looked at all the evidence in this case, and it's not there. It was a situation where she was provided a credit card, and I believe genuinely thought they had arrived."
Misty Noel shares her side of the story
Noel wanted to share her side of the story this week with WDRB News nearly two years after her life was turned upside down.
"I did promise my kids at some point I would discuss our story and how we got to the point that we are at today," she said.
At Jamey Noel's sentencing last October, he said his family, including his wife, had no idea of his illegal activity. Jamey Noel was sentenced to 12 years in prison and ordered to pay millions in restitution after pleading guilty to 27 felonies for theft, obstruction of justice, tax evasion, money laundering, corrupt business influence and official misconduct.
Misty Noel said her husband was in control of the family's finances.
"I did the laundry (and) did the grocery shopping, but he always took care of our finances," she said. "I was unaware of our finances up until April, when he was incarcerated. That was the first time that I had officially taken over our finances and that I had a complete and honest look at what was occurring."
When asked if she ever felt like the it was an unusual amount of money brought into the household, she said no.
"The misconception is that I was rolling in with designer clothes or purses," she said. "Whenever they came into our home, and the attorney general came into our home, nothing of mine was taken besides some jewelry that I had given up voluntarily whenever they came in that I had been given over the years of our marriage."
Kasey Noel's part in the crimes
In February, Misty Noel's daughter, Kasey, was sentenced to nine months in prison. She was arrested last April on nine felony charges, including five counts of theft and four counts of tax evasion. Search warrants in the corruption case of Jamey Noel indicate Kasey Noel charged more than $100,000 to the Utica Township Volunteer Firefighters Association and New Chapel EMS.
The daughter of Misty and Jamey Noel, Kasey Noel, was emotional in court, after her mother was sentenced in the corruption scandal that also forced her to serve time. (WDRB Image) July 3, 2025
"My children are in this situation because we trusted him, we believed him, and I failed to be the adult and know my financial situation," Misty Noel said. "And that's my fault, and I hold myself accountable for that."
Misty Noel has since filed for divorce.
"I'm not asking for anything," she said. "There's nothing to be had. Even if he had it, I just don't want to be married to him anymore."
She met Jamey Noel when she was 21 years old, and they married when she was 22.
"I literally went from my parents' home to his home," she said. "I did not marry somebody who had a lot of money or wealth. The perception that's been put out there is that I have remained in this marriage for wealth or for stature, and that's just not true."
Misty Noel said her husband had an affair with one of her friends, who became pregnant.
"He came home, and that's when he told me that he'd been having an affair for a year and she was going to have a baby," she said. "I was weak and I was fragile and I fell apart. My daughter was in the house — my youngest daughter — and she heard me cry and she heard me yell at her. I was just destroyed."
But Jamey Noel told his wife he was going to do better. She stayed with him because of her children.
Misty Noel at her sentencing hearing at the Clark County Courthouse in Jeffersonville, Indiana. (WDRB Image) July 3, 2025
Kasey Noel was recently released from prison and is expecting her first child.
"She struggled," Misty Noel said. "It was not easy for her to be incarcerated. It was not easy for her to be pregnant while incarcerated."
But as Kasey Noel looks forward to welcoming a new baby, she now is faced with the possibility of beginning motherhood without her own mother.
"No matter what punishment is given to me, that is something I will never forgive myself for," Misty Noel said. "This chapter can close. We can start to heal and move on and live a very low-key, normal life.'"
Related Stories:
Misty Noel, wife of former Clark County sheriff pleads guilty to 10 felony charges
Jamey Noel Fallout | Corruption, betrayal and communities left in chaos
Former sheriff's crimes force property tax hikes, service cuts in Clark County
Former Clark County council member pleads guilty to 1 felony connected to Jamey Noel case
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