Despite resignation, Kentucky House votes to impeach state prosecutor Ronnie Goldy

The Kentucky House voted unanimously Thursday to impeach Commonwealth's Attorney Ronnie Goldy Jr., despite the state prosecutor's apparent attempt to avoid that fate by announcing his pending resignation the previous day.

Goldy, the top state prosecutor for the 21st Judicial Circuit, comprised of Bath, Menifee, Montgomery and Rowan counties, has been embroiled in scandal since July, when The Courier Journal first reported hundreds of Facebook messages he exchanged with a defendant, allegedly exchanging favors in court for nude images of her.

A Kentucky House committee drafted and passed three articles of impeachment Tuesday against Goldy, recommending the chamber move forward with his removal from office.

Goldy, who categorically denied the allegations in his written response to the committee, announced the following day that he would resign from office at the end of February.

More:House committee advances articles of impeachment against Kentucky prosecutor Ronnie Goldy

However, the House moved forward with the resolution to impeach Goldy on Thursday, with the impeachment committee chairman noting the move would also disqualify him from holding an elected office in the future.

Rep. Daniel Elliott, R-Danville, the chairman of the impeachment committee, told House members Thursday the actions of Goldy were "clearly an abuse of power," saying he "is no longer fit to serve" in a role that requires the faith of citizens in the judicial district.

Rep. Nima Kulkarni, D-Louisville, added that the extraordinary move to impeach Goldy was "serving justice for the commonwealth."

The House resolution to impeach Goldy passed by a 97-to-0 vote.

This story will be updated.

Reach reporter Joe Sonka at jsonka@courierjournal.com and follow him on Twitter at @joesonka.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky House votes to impeach state prosecutor Ronnie Goldy