Skip to content
Donate Now
  • Donate Now
  • logo
  • logo
  • About KyCIR
  • Recent Projects
    • Browse all our projects
    • LMPD Police Shootings
    • Breonna Taylor
    • Search Warrants In Louisville
    • COVID and the Unemployment Insurance Crisis
    • Prosecution Declined
    • Economic Development Failures in Eastern Ky.
    • Coronavirus Pandemic In Kentucky
    • Seized: Asset Forfeiture in Kentucky
    • Fatal Flaws: How Kentucky Is Failing Its Workers
    • The Pope’s Long Con
    • Louisville Police And Hypocritical Actions On Immigration Enforcement
    • Kentucky Constables: Untrained And Unaccountable
    • KyCIR Amplify: The Voices Behind Our Investigations
  • Coronavirus Coverage
  • Criminal Justice Investigations
  • Contact
  • Become A Member
  • Donate Now

Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting - Nonprofit investigative journalism in Louisville, Kentucky

Peabody Award Winner 2017

Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting (https://kycir.org/author/ryland-barton/)

  • About KyCIR
  • Recent Projects
    • Browse all our projects
    • LMPD Police Shootings
    • Breonna Taylor
    • Search Warrants In Louisville
    • COVID and the Unemployment Insurance Crisis
    • Prosecution Declined
    • Economic Development Failures in Eastern Ky.
    • Coronavirus Pandemic In Kentucky
    • Seized: Asset Forfeiture in Kentucky
    • Fatal Flaws: How Kentucky Is Failing Its Workers
    • The Pope’s Long Con
    • Louisville Police And Hypocritical Actions On Immigration Enforcement
    • Kentucky Constables: Untrained And Unaccountable
    • KyCIR Amplify: The Voices Behind Our Investigations
  • Coronavirus Coverage
  • Criminal Justice Investigations
  • Contact
  • Become A Member
Subscribe

Ryland Barton

Ryland Barton is the Capitol bureau chief for Kentucky Public Radio. He's covered politics and state government for NPR member stations KWBU in Waco and KUT in Austin. He has a bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago and a master's degree in journalism from the University of Texas. He grew up in Lexington.

Politics

Hoover, Other Legislators Drop Lawsuit Against Sexual Harassment Accuser

By Ryland Barton | September 16, 2019

The legislators sued a former communications staffer for the Republican House Caucus for allegedly disclosing details of a secret sexual harassment settlement.

Featured in Category

Rep. Jeff Hoover’s Accuser Asks Court To Dismiss His Lawsuit Against Her

By Ryland Barton | April 9, 2019

Marissa Espinosa is fighting Rep. Jeff Hoover’s claim that she improperly divulged details of a secret sexual harassment settlement.

Former Legislator: Allegation That I Saw Rep. Hoover Acting Inappropriately Isn’t True

By R.G. Dunlop and Ryland Barton | February 26, 2019

In a demand letter, a former House staffer said another legislator witnessed Rep. Jeff Hoover and the woman interact and complained about it. The legislator told KyCIR that wasn’t true.

2019

Demand Letter Shows Rep. Hoover’s Accuser Alleged Groping, Coercion From Start Of Scandal

By R.G. Dunlop and Ryland Barton | February 25, 2019

Our investigation found that the legislative commission that looked into Rep. Jeff Hoover’s alleged ethics violations knew about the woman’s claims of unwanted touching, but didn’t publicly discuss them or seriously investigate the veracity of the claim.

Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission

Rep. Jeff Hoover’s Lawyer Seeks To Depose Former Staffer About Assault Allegations

By Ryland Barton and R.G. Dunlop | January 18, 2019

A lawyer representing the accuser says she will appeal to a higher court to stop the deposition from taking place.

David Osborne

Kentucky Legislative Leaders Respond To Sexual Harassment, Assault Allegations

By Ryland Barton and R.G. Dunlop | January 17, 2019

House Speaker David Osborne said in a statement that he “takes all allegations of a hostile work environment seriously.”

Former Ky. Representative Resigns After Allegation Of Sexual Remark

By Ryland Barton and R.G. Dunlop | January 16, 2019

Former Rep. Brad Montell’s name was not associated with the sexual harassment scandal until KyCIR reported on the contents of the deposition. The woman said Montell made a sexually suggestive remark when she asked him to donate to a candidate she was working for.

Jeff Hoover

Kentucky Dems, GOP Respond To Sexual Harassment, Assault Allegations

By Ryland Barton and R.G. Dunlop | January 16, 2019

The Kentucky Democratic Party is calling for Republican state Reps. Jeff Hoover and Michael Meredith to resign in the wake of an investigation published Tuesday detailing testimony by a former staffer alleging sexual harassment by the lawmakers. The woman alleged that Hoover sexually assaulted her more than 50 times, and that Meredith screamed vulgar comments at her. The woman, identified in some court records as Jane Doe, made the allegations in a sealed deposition obtained by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting and Kentucky Public Radio. In the 270-page document, the woman alleged that Hoover repeatedly groped her without her consent throughout her employment with the House Republican Caucus between 2015 and 2017.

Government

Former Staffer Alleges Sexual Assault, ‘Nearly Daily Touching’ By Ky. Rep. Jeff Hoover In Sealed Deposition

By R.G. Dunlop and Ryland Barton | January 15, 2019

Hoover, the former Speaker of the House, has said he exchanged inappropriate texts but denied any sexual contact. The staffer said under oath that Hoover sexually assaulted her.

dan johnson

Family, Friends Gather At Heart Of Fire Church To Remember Rep. Dan Johnson

By Ryland Barton | December 19, 2017

As friends and family gathered at the Heart of Fire Church in Louisville’s Fern Creek neighborhood, the front lawn became a parking lot to accommodate hundreds of Johnson’s mourners, many of whom rode in on motorcycles.

Load more stories

About This Site

The Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting is a nonprofit newsroom based in Louisville, Ky. We are a product of Louisville Public Media and 89.3 WFPL News. We produce investigative journalism that affects you, your neighborhood, your Commonwealth.

Follow Us

Like Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on InstagramSubscribe via RSS

Support Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting

We depend on your support. A generous gift in any amount helps us continue to bring you this service.

Donate Now

Search This Site

Browse Archives

© Copyright 2021, Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting

  • Privacy Policy

Built with the Largo WordPress Theme from the Institute for Nonprofit News.

Back to top ↑