Somerset man facing 70 years on sex abuse, burglary charges

Carla Slavey, Commonwealth Journal, Somerset, Ky.
·2 min read
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Dec. 22—A Somerset man facing multiple charges, from sexual abuse to burglary, is facing up to 70 years if found guilty, according to prosecutors.

That man, Tyler B. Stewart, had been extended an offer from Commonwealth's Attorney David Dalton, but Dalton said he withdrew that offer after Stewart fired his previous defense attorney.

Stewart, 22, was handed five indictments against him in February 2021. The charges from those indictments include first-degree Unlawful Transaction with a Minor Under 16; three counts of second-degree Unlawful Transaction with a Minor; Use of a Minor Under 16 in a Sex Performance; Promoting a Sex Performance by a Minor Under 16; Possessing/Viewing Matter Portraying a Sexual Performance by a Minor; Distributing Obscene Material to Minors; Sexual Misconduct; second-degree Sexual Abuse; three counts of second-degree Unlawful Transaction with a Minor; second-degree Burglary; third-degree Burglary; and two counts of Theft by Unlawful Taking or Disposition of an Auto between $500 and $10,000.

In a court hearing held Thursday, Stewart appeared via video conference from the Pulaski County Detention Center while his new attorney, Brian Reed, stood in the courtroom.

Reed told Pulaski Circuit Court Judge Teresa Whitaker that he had only just been assigned the case, and he had not yet received all of the discovery from Stewart's former attorney, Tim Despotes.

Prosecutor Dalton had strong words for Stewart, expressing frustration that Stewart had fired Despotes as his attorney.

Dalton said he gets "very irritated" when competent attorneys are bad mouthed by their clients, as Stewart apparently had done, and Despotes' removal from the case was the direct cause of Dalton rescinding an offer he had placed on the table.

Dalton continued by saying that, "clearly, the client's lost his mind," if Stewart didn't believe Despotes was a good attorney, and that Dalton would rather take the case to trial than work with an irrational defendant.

"You're just going to have to have a jury show you," Dalton said.

Whitaker told Stewart that he will need to go over the cases' discovery with his new attorney once Reed receives it from Despotes.

Citing the seriousness of the charges, Reed asked for more time to review, with Whitaker setting another pretrial conference date for February 23.

Readers are reminded that a charge is an accusation only, and that all suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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