EMT charged with raping daughter

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July 6, 2009

By TRICIA NEAL, CJ Staff Writer The Commonwealth Journal Mon Jul 06, 2009, 08:37 PM EDT

Somerset — Somerset EMS Chief James Latham describes EMT Rodney James Dobies as an outstanding employee.

“He was polite to a fault, a go-getter, a hard worker,” he said.

“This just doesn’t add up to me.”

Latham was as surprised as anyone to learn last week that Dobies, 42, who has worked part time — and then full time — for the Somerset EMS Department for the last six years, was arrested and charged with sexual abuse of his stepdaughter. Sources say the girl was just nine years old.

“Out of all the employees I’ve had here, he would be the dead last one I would have expected this from,” Latham said.

“I hate it so bad. ... He was an outstanding employee, squeaky clean. ... He was a good friend as well. I’m just deeply disappointed and shocked. ... My heart goes out to the whole family.”

The McCreary County Sheriff’s Department and the Kentucky State Police responded to Dobies’ Pine Knot residence shortly before midnight on June 28. The girl’s mother had found Dobies “engaged in physical contact” with his stepdaughter, according to a criminal complaint filed by KSP Detective Billy Correll.

Dobies was not at home when authorities arrived, but he was located two days later at a Rattlesnake Ridge residence. He was taken into custody without incident and was lodged in the McCreary County Jail under a $100,000 cash bond.

Dobies has been charged with one count of first-degree sexual abuse against a victim under the age of 12. If he is convicted of the Class C felony, he could face five to 10 years in prison. More charges may be pending.

Latham said Dobies did not show up for work last week.

“He was scheduled to work last week,” Latham said.

“He missed three days, and provided no notification to his supervisor. According to our policy manual, after three days, we assume they’ve quit.”

Somerset City Attorney Carrie Wiese confirmed that Dobies had been employed full time with the city’s EMS Department, and said he has been “suspended indefinitely without pay or benefits pending outcome of the investigation.”

Dobies also worked part time for the McCreary County EMS Department, but, according to McCreary Judge-executive Blaine Phillips, he had worked very little there in the last six months. He has also been suspended without pay from the McCreary County EMS.

•••

Janie Slaven of the McCreary County Record contributed to this story.

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In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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