The Crystal Rogers Act takes effect in Kentucky on Wednesday, July 15, giving prosecutors 10 years to pursue illegally recording grand jury testimony. Crystal Rogers, a Bardstown woman and mother who went missing in 2015 and is presumed dead, is the case tied to the law.
The change comes from House Bill 305, which Rep. Candy Massaroni filed and Gov. Andy Beshear signed into law on April 13. Under the new law, illegally recording grand jury testimony is a misdemeanor, while sharing that testimony is a felony.
Candy Massaroni filed HB 305
Massaroni filed HB 305 after the Crystal Rogers case drew attention to the existing one-year statute of limitations. The bill extends that window to 10 years, giving Kentucky a longer period to charge the recording offense.
HB 305 was inspired by the Crystal Rogers case after an FBI investigation revealed that family members of Brooks Houck recorded testimony. Those family members could not be charged for recording the testimony because the statute of limitations had already run out.
Crystal Rogers and Brooks Houck
Rogers disappeared in 2015, and the law carries her name as it takes effect across Kentucky. The act does not change the facts of that case, but it does change how long similar conduct can remain prosecutable in the Commonwealth.
For anyone facing a grand jury-related case in Kentucky, the practical shift is straightforward: conduct that once could fall outside the charging window after one year now remains exposed for 10 years, and sharing the testimony remains the more serious charge.
July 15 in Kentucky
The law’s effective date means Kentucky prosecutors can begin using the longer limitations period on Wednesday. Whether the new rules reach any future or past prosecutions connected to the Crystal Rogers case is not answered in the law’s effective date itself.
