A woman has been sentenced to serve jail time and probation after pleading guilty to filing a false report about an alleged assault in Whitesville.
The sentencing on Wednesday drew extra scrutiny from the bench, as Judge C. Derek Reed asked Edge several times whether she was entering her plea voluntarily and whether she was admitting the assault never occurred — a level of questioning more typical of circuit court cases than district court.
Kylen Edge, 29, confirmed each time Reed asked that she was acting of her own free will, that she had made up the report, and that she understood she was giving up her right to trial and admitting guilt. The back-and-forth went on longer than is customary in misdemeanor proceedings, underscoring the high-profile nature of the case and the need for Edge’s admission to be beyond dispute, Daviess County Sheriff Brad Youngman told Ownsboro Times after the sentencing.
Edge received a 365-day sentence, with 14 days to serve beginning September 30. The remainder is probated for two years, provided she complies with conditions including ongoing counseling, a December 17 review hearing to assess her progress, and payment of court costs by March 2026.
Edge is also prohibited from posting on social media about the case. Youngman told OT, which was the only media outlet in attendance, that the social media condition stems from posts Edge made after her arrest in which she continued to claim she had been attacked. Restitution remains possible if she violates probation.
“This was not a typical district court plea,” Youngman said after the hearing. “The judge treated it like a serious circuit court case, asking her over and over if she was threatened, promised anything, or coerced. He wanted to make sure she admitted publicly that this did not happen. There should be no doubt now: she made it up.”
Youngman said investigators normally do not pursue charges in false-report cases, but the widespread alarm and fallout in Whitesville and across Daviess County made it necessary.
“It wasn’t our goal to send her to prison, but she needed to admit she lied,” he said. “This case had a ripple effect on the entire community and even impacted how sexual assault victims feel about coming forward. The sentence should send a message without discouraging true victims.”
Edge was arrested in August after authorities determined she had fabricated the assault report. DCSO investigators responded with urgency, but the physical evidence contradicted her claims. Youngman said the office had “no reason to doubt her” when the report came in, but the case unraveled as “glaring” inconsistencies emerged.
Edge later admitted to making the false statements. Prosecutors charged her with making a false report to law enforcement, a misdemeanor offense.
