Jailed Former Clark County Sheriff Files Lawsuit

Jamey Noel mugshot — Source: Clark County Jail / other

LOUISVILLE, KY.–Former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel has filed a civil rights lawsuit against several of his former colleagues, claiming that his constitutional rights were violated.

The suit was filed in April.

One of the person he’s going after in the lawsuit is the current Clark County Sheriff Scottie Maples. Noel says Maples and Assistant Chief Mark Grube posted a photo of him praying on Facebook to mock his Catholic faith, and that he was denied the ability to practice his religion while in jail.

He also claims that he was mistreated by Scott County Corrections Officer Rusty Johns and had his car seized by Indiana State Police Lt. Jeffrey Hearon without a warrant.

Noel is seeking $930,000 in compensatory damages and plans to represent himself in the case.

Noel was sentenced in Oct. 2024 to 12 years in prison, which he is serving at the Indiana Department of Corrections New Castle Correctional Annex. His earliest possible release date is June 2033.

A lengthy investigation found Noel took public money for years to support a lavish lifestyle that included cars, boats, planes, tuition payments, child support and more.

As part of the plea deal, he was ordered to pay more than $3.1 million in restitution to four different public agencies:

-$2,870,924 to Utica Township Volunteers Firefighters Association (dba New Chapel EMS)
-$173,155.07 to the Indiana Department of Revenue
-$61,190.77 to the Clark County Sheriff’s Department
-$35,245.60 to Indiana State Police

To recover the money, nearly all of Noel’s assets were ordered sold at auctions. Among the items on the block, dozens of his personal items, guns, custom suits, watches, old police cruisers and luxury vehicles.

In September, the former sheriff was also ordered to pay $918,000 in damages to the state of Indiana. The special judge in one of the state’s civil cases against Noel said he should pay the $918,000 as punitive damages. The amount is in additional to the more than $3 million Noel agreed to pay as part of his criminal case.