Sex crime charges against University of Kentucky professor dismissed

Sex crime charges against a University of Kentucky professor were dismissed Friday in Fayette County Circuit Court.

Kevin Real, 67, was previously facing charges of first-degree sexual abuse of a person under the age of 12, incest of a person under the age of 18, sodomy, fourth-degree assault (domestic violence) and evidence tampering, according to court records. The charges were dismissed on the motion of the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, who reviewed all the evidence in the case before filing the dismissal motion.

The case was dismissed without prejudice.

“I want to thank God. All glory and honor is his and I want to thank my attorney Chris Spedding and Steve Schroering. I want to thank my family and my friends for all their support and all their prayers on my behalf,” Real said in a statement after Friday’s hearing. “I’m happy that the correct result was found. I’m actually relieved that this long and painful ordeal is over with.”

Real is a professor of communication at UK and the former chair of the department. UK spokesperson Jay Blanton verified Thursday that Real remains a member of the faculty but is not currently working on campus. Blanton said Real has a research appointment.

Real has been an employee at UK since 2002 in several roles, according to his resume. He was hired as assistant professor and has also been an associate professor and professor in the department of communication.

Real appeared to be well-liked among colleagues and students and was described by one colleague as “a model teacher,” according to his UK personnel records the Herald-Leader obtained through an open records act request.

“Kevin Real is innocent of the charges that were brought against him,” attorneys Spedding and Schroering said in a statement. “Today, after carefully reviewing all the evidence related to this case, much of which we provided, all charges were dismissed on the motion of the prosecutor.”

Real was arrested in September and placed on administrative leave by the university. At the time of his arrest Real’s bond was set at $30,000, but it was lowered to $15,000 the following day at his arraignment.

Real paid the bond and was released from jail under the condition of remaining at home on electronic monitoring with limited releases. His bond conditions were loosened roughly one month later, which allowed him to leave house arrest as long as he continued to be electronically monitored and stay in Fayette County.

“Kevin is grateful that the correct outcome was reached and looks forward to moving past this incredibly difficult and painful part of his life,” attorneys Spedding and Schroering said in a statement.

Herald-Leader reporter Taylor Six contributed to this article.