Date: 06-14-2015
State Attorney General Conway has declined to get involved
A former member of a powerful Northern Kentucky family has been indicted for having an ongoing sexual relationship with a minor. Two of the key legal players in the case have removed themselves from the proceedings and the state attorney general also has declined to get involved.
Management consultant Ron Hill of Fort Mitchell was indicted by a Kenton County grand jury on June 4 on eight counts, including four Class B felony counts of illegal sex acts with a minor under the age of 16. If convicted and the sentences are handed down consecutively, Hill faces 100 years in prison.
Hill, 45, who was formerly married into the well-known Grayson family of Northern Kentucky and who formerly was on the board of directors for Central Bank, is to be arraigned Monday. He is out on a $50,000 bond after being arrested late last week in Callaway County near Murray, Ky.
Hill’s former father-in-law Merwin Grayson Jr. has been a major presence in the region’s banking industry, helping Central Bank start up in Northern Kentucky, as well as serving as a former member of the Kenton County Airport Board. Hill’s former brother-in-law, Trey Grayson, served two terms as Kentucky secretary of state and is the current president of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. Hill and his former wife Susan divorced in March.
The case is being prosecuted by the Hardin County Commonwealth Attorney’s office after Kenton County prosecutor Rob Sanders recused himself.
“I have personal ties to families on both sides of the case,” Sanders told The Enquirer Thursday.
Hardin County prosecutor Shane Young did not return calls seeking comment. Sanders had initially tried to get the Kentucky Attorney General’s office to try the case, but a conflict was cited there as well, leading to Young’s involvement.
Kenton County Circuit Court Judge Patricia Summe also stepped down from the case, telling The Enquirer it was because she had “heard too much about the investigation in the courthouse and knew too many facts” and not because of any potential conflicts of interest.
Harry Hellings, Hill’s attorney, said that he only knew of the charges through the indictment and that Hill had no comment.
“We will evaluate everything once we go through discovery and see the grand jury transcript,” Hellings told The Enquirer.
Hellings also said that Hill was supposed to turn himself into authorities last week, but that confusion over how to pay a bond led to his trip to Callaway County to get cash and that there was no attempt to flee.
“There was nothing mysterious about that at all,” Hellings said.
Police visited the Hill home Monday to search the contents of a previously locked gun safe, Trey Grayson told The Enquirer Thursday. But detectives did not take anything away from the site, Grayson said.
He said the Grayson family had no further comment on the situation, including on Hill’s current or former dealings with Central Bank.
Fort Mitchell police chief Jeff Eldridge did not return messages seeking comment.
Hill arrested three times before
According to documents obtained by The Enquirer, Hill started the sexual relationship in 2009 when the girl was 14 years old. That relationship continued until 2013, when the two were caught having traveled together on a college trip for the girl.
The Enquirer is withholding the name of the girl since she was a minor at the time of the alleged crime.
That’s when the girl’s parents went to authorities, leading to the investigation that prompted the indictment.
Then in February 2014, Hill was charged with filing a false report for accusing the girl’s father of shooting at him, a report that ended in Hill’s arrest. Three months later, he was arrested for driving under the influence and wanton endangerment after driving on Dixie Highway with no front tire.
That’s on top of a previous public intoxication arrest from 2013.
Ron and Susan Hill officially divorced in late March. The final settlement calls for Ron Hill to have no contact with his children, and points out that Hill is accused in a separate lawsuit of forging his wife’s name to withdraw nearly $250,000 from a retirement account.
“Husband has a history of alcohol abuse and there is evidence that he continues to use alcohol,” Kenton County Family Court Judge Christopher J. Mehling wrote in his decision that did not call for Ron Hill to provide any child support.
That divorce order did not indicate whether Ron Hill was still involved with Central Bank, and did not list any bank stock or holdings as assets.
“Hill left his advisory role with the bank early in 2014 and is no longer associated with us,” Central Bank vice president Steve Kelly said in an email Friday. “His role was limited to an advisory capacity and he was never employed by the bank.”
By James Pilcher
The Kentucky Enquirer
