Two Greenup men plead guilty to sex crimes
ASHLAND Two men pleaded guilty on Tuesday in federal court after previous indictments out of Greenup County accused them of using the internet to obtain sexual explicit images of minors.
Austin Hardin, 29, of South Shore, was formally charged by a Greenup County grand jury in October 2023 on 14 counts of possessing child sexual abuse materials depicting children under the age of 12 and one count of procuring or promoting the use of a minor.
Per initial reports, Hardin engaged in sexually motivated conversations with a person posed as an 11-year-old girl.
As a result of that investigation, Hardin revealed to police he had child sexual abuse images and videos on a “secret folder” on his cellphone, according to court records.
Forensic review of Hardin’s phone located 600-plus images and videos of children, including the sexual abuse of infants.
The Greenup County indictment eventually led to the interest of federal prosecutors, who later filed criminal information against Hardin accusing him of sexually exploiting children.
On Tuesday in U.S. District Court, Hardin entered a guilty plea to receiving a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct which carries a punishment between five and 10 years in federal prison.
Hardin is scheduled to appear in Greenup County Circuit Court on June 6 ahead of his federal sentence date of Sept. 9.
In addition to Hardin, Skyler Allen Mullins, 23, of Flatwoods, was also indicted by a Greenup County grand jury on charges related to child sexual abuse materials before pleading guilty in federal court on Tuesday.
Per previous reports, the grand jury in Greenup County formally charged Mullins with seven counts of promoting the use of a minor in a sexual performance, three counts of first-degree sexual abuse, seven counts of distributing child sexual abuse materials and 10 counts of possessing the material.
In August 2023, a federal grand jury indicted Mullins with attempting to produce visual depictions involving a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, aiding and abetting the transportation of visual depictions involving minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and possessing the material.
On Tuesday, Mullins entered a guilty plea to attempting to employ, use, persuade, induce, entice and coerce a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing sexual materials and engaging in sexually explicit conduct for the same purpose.
Mullins also pleaded guilty to possessing materials containing visual depictions of a minor.
Per the plea agreement entered in federal court, Kentucky State Police was informed Mullins was using social media to exchange sexually explicit images of children in May 2022.
That sexual explicit material was not only shared by Mullins, but it was created by him, per court records.
In a subsequent interview, Mullins admitted to police “he was sexually attracted to children, primarily those between the ages of 11 and 16.”
Mullins also told police he created multiple videos of himself sexually assaulting a 10-year-old while she was sleeping.
Per court records, a forensic review of Mullins’s cellphone uncovered 12 video clips of that victim’s assault by Mullins.
Mullins was also regularly involved in online discussions related to his plans to rape the girl after drugging her “to ensure she would not awaken,” before law enforcement intervened.
Even with Mullins’s admissions and guilty plea, he faces a minimum of 15 years in federal prison.
Mullins will appear on his state charges in Greenup County Circuit Court on June 6. His federal sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 15.
