Micah Schoettle

Micah Schoettle

Warning: Some of the information below could be deemed graphic.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Kentucky man withdrew his request to remove a rape conviction from his record after he was pardoned by former Gov. Matt Bevin.

Micah Schoettle sent in the request in December after being pardoned less than 18 months into a 23-year sentence in 2018 for the rape of a 9-year-old girl. Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Sanders asked a circuit court to deny Schoettle's request, citing him as a danger to the community. Sanders said if it wasn't for Schoettle's millionaire mother donating to support Bevin's re-election campaign, his case wouldn't have been considered.

A jury found Schoettle guilty in August 2018 of nine charges dating back to November 2016: first-degree rape of a victim under 12 years old, three counts of incest with a victim under 12 years old, two counts of first-degree sodomy with a victim under 12 years old and three counts of sexual abuse of a victim under 12 years old. 

At the time, Bevin said there was zero evidence of medical and physical repercussions.

"These girls, both, were examined medically, examined physically ... there was zero evidence, zero," Bevin told Terry Meiners on his radio show in December 2019 after the pardon. "Both their hymens were in tact. This is perhaps more specific than people would want, but trust me, if you've been repeatedly sexually violated as a small child by an adult, there are going to be repercussions of that physically and medically. There was zero evidence of that."

The U.S. National Library of Medicine says "an examination of the hymen is not an accurate or reliable test of a previous history of sexual activity, including sexual assault."

At the time, Sanders said Bevin pardoning Schoettle "shocks the conscience."

"It's offensive. It's mind boggling how any governor could be this irresponsible," he said. "It's an abomination of the criminal justice system." 

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