Update: U.S. Attorney Joe Hogsett alleges that Clark County Sheriff Daniel Rodden, who was indicted on federal charges Tuesday, provided a prostitute with a deputy’s badge and other credentials."He did so in order that the prostitute could obtain a government employee rate at a hotel across the river in Louisville," Hogsett said during a news conference on Tuesday. "It is also alleged in the indictment that Mr. Rodden met the prostitute at that hotel several weeks later and engaged in a sex act with her."Rodden is accused of telling the prostitute to “get rid” of the materials and with lying repeatedly to the FBI about his involvement with the woman. The charges carry more than 20 years in prison.The U.S. Attorney's Office says any action related to Rodden’s status as sheriff would have to take place on the county level.
Rodden has denied the charges, the Associated Press reports. He was arrested but was expected to be released after entering a plea this afternoon in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis.Rodden is the second Indiana law enforcement official recently to face charges related to the use of prostitutes, according to the AP. Boone County Sheriff Ken Campbell resigned in June amid an investigation into his relationship with a prostitute.Officials in Hogsett's office would not say if the two investigations are related.Earier: A federal grand jury has indicted Clark County Sheriff Daniel Rodden on charges of lying and and destroying or falsifying federal records.Rodden allegedly provided a Louisville prostitute with law enforcement credentials and an official Clark County deputy's badge in order for the prostitute to obtain a government employee rate at local hotels, according to the indictment, which was unsealed this morning in the Southern District of Indiana courthouse.The indictments states that Rodden met the prostitute at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Louisville, engaged in oral sex, paid the prostitute $300 and provided that person with a Clark County Sheriff's uniform shirt.The federal indictment was unsealed Tuesday morning by Magistrate Denise K. LaRue, court records show.Rodden, 60, was elected Clark County Sheriff in 2007.He could not immediately be reached for comment.The FBI had been conducting a federal investigation of wire fraud and prostitution. As part of that probe, agents interviewed Rodden on May 27, May 29 and June 5, according to the indictment.Rodden denied the allegations in an interview with agents, saying he never provided sheriff's equipment to the prostitute and that they did not have a relationship, according to court documents.Federal prosecutors allege that Rodden also counseled the prostitute to "get rid of" the law enforcement credentials and uniform, the indictment states. Investigators noted that Rodden had contacted the prostitute two days prior to his May 29 interview with agents.This story will be updated.
