A lawyer and former Hamilton County judge is facing prostitution charges involving a Clermont County jail inmate, according to the Clermont County Sheriff's Office.
James Kenney, 75, is charged with engaging in prostitution, obstructing official business and solicitation.
Court records state Kenney admitted to "sexual activity" with an inmate during a Aug. 4 visit. He also admitted contraband to an inmate, the records say.
Investigators said used his professional credentials to visit the inmate, whom he was not representing.
Kenney was a Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge for six years beginning in the 1990s. He then joined the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office in 2002. In 2004, he was charged with sexual imposition for inappropriately touching
a 21-year-old man. He pleaded guilty to the charge and resigned from his job as assistant prosecutor. He served a sentence of 10 days in jail in 2005.
In August, Kenney admitted to bringing chewing tobacco and vape pens into the jail "in connection with engaging in sexual acts with the inmate," court records say.
Kenney gained access to the inmate by saying the contact was "attorney-related," court record state.
Kenney is currently held at Clermont County Jail. He is scheduled to appear in front of Judge Katherine Terpstra on Tuesday, Aug. 25 at 10 a.m.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ex-judge arrested on prostitution charge involving inmate
