Elected official groped woman at her home — then drove tractor drunk, Kentucky cops say

A county official was arrested last weekend after he sexually assaulted a constituent at her home and then was caught driving drunk, Kentucky cops say.

A woman said Elbert Bennett, magistrate of Caldwell County, was at the woman’s home Friday night discussing recent road work. Bennett told the woman he had been drinking and suggested they go “to a nearby field together,” according to an arrest citation.

Bennett, 72, later forced his hand down the shirt of the woman, who said he was able “to get a handful,” according to Kentucky State Police. The woman immediately stopped the magistrate and he left her home, police say.

Police said they found Bennett driving in the Caldwell County town of Fredonia on his farming tractor. When Bennett was stopped, troopers smelled alcohol on his breath and he told the troopers he had about six beers earlier in the day, according to state police.

Bennett failed multiple sobriety tests and his blood alcohol content was registered at 0.086, above the legal limit of .08, an arrest citation states.

He was arrested and charged with third-degree sexual abuse and operating a non-motor vehicle under influence of intoxicants, court records show. He is due in court May 24.

Bennett is the District 1 magistrate for Caldwell County Fiscal Court. He ran unopposed as a Republican in the 2018 election, The Times Leader reported.

“We at the city of Fredonia are saddened and do not condone this behavior,” Mayor Jim Seibert said, according to the Paducah Sun.

This story was originally published May 4, 2021 at 9:23 AM with the headline "Elected official groped woman at her home — then drove tractor drunk, Kentucky cops say."