Ex-governor defends pardon of man convicted of child rape

(AP) LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin has defended his controversial pardon of a man convicted of raping a child. Bevin told WHAS radio on Thursday that there was no physical evidence of an assault. Former Kentucky Medical Examiner Dr. George Nichols criticized the comments as being factually inaccurate. Nichols tells the Courier Journal newspaper that Bevin doesn’t know the law or medicine. Bevin pardoned numerous prisoners as he left office after his electoral defeat last month. Among them was 41-year-old Micah Schoettle. Schoettle was convicted of rape, sodomy and other sexual crimes and sentenced to 23 years in prison in 2018.