Bailey pleads guilty to sex abuse charges

Sep. 8—A Bronston man charged with sexual abuse and witness retaliation charges has submitted a plea deal in which he agrees to serve 30 years in prison.

Edward Charles Bailey, 37, was arrested in February 2022 after an investigation that began in December 2021 revealed possible sexual abuse of a child.

On Thursday, Bailey pleaded guilty to first-degree Attempted Rape (Victim Under 12); first-degree Attempted Sodomy (Victim under 12); first-degree Criminal Abuse (Victim Under 12); first-degree Custodial Interference; first-degree Sexual Abuse (Victim under 16); and Retaliating Against a Participant in the Legal Process.

The investigation began in 2021 when Pulaski County Sheriff's Detective Matt Bryant responded to a report of a possible child sex abuse case in Bronston.

While investigating the matter, Bryant made contact with Bailey at his residence and found reason to charge him with child sexual abuse.

According to Bryant's statement, Bailey admitted to performing the act he was accused of and described it as a "momentary lapse of stupidity."

According to Commonwealth's Attorney David Dalton, there were two victims in the case.

The first, a 13-year-old victim, reported during an emergency room visit that Bailey had sexually abused her while staying at a residence in Bronston.

She indicated this happened while school was out the previous summer, Dalton's office stated.

While investigating this incident, law enforcement talked with a Bronston woman — the owner of the home the first victim was staying at — who said she had witnessed Bailey sexually abuse a 2-year-old female.

When PCSO detectives confronted Bailey, they stated that he admitted he had touched Victim 1 for 15 seconds and Victim 2 for about 5 seconds.

"After being detained on these charges, Bailey made jail house statements that he would smack the mother of Victim 2, which constituted the retaliation charge," Dalton's office stated.

Due to the ages of the victims, the sex-related offenses are considered to be "violent offenses," meaning that Bailey must serve at least 85% of his sentence for those charges.

Bailey would also be required to register with the Sex Offender Registry upon his release, and serve a five-year conditional discharge.

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Eddy Montgomery set final sentencing for November 2.

Dalton thanked the victim's families for their support, as well as thanking Lt. Bryant and the PCSO Criminal Investigation Division for their exceptional work on the case.

Carla Slavey can be reached at cslavey@somerset-kentucky.com