A Central Kentucky defense attorney has been banned from several local jails across the commonwealth after officials say she was having inappropriate interactions with detainees, records show.
Stefanie Mundhenk is on differing levels of restricted access in the Boyle, Bullitt, Oldham, and Nelson County jails due to inappropriate relationships with her clients in custody, documents obtained through the Kentucky Open Records Act revealed.
When contacted by the Herald-Leader, Mundhenk said she was “not in a position to respond.”
Mundhenk worked originally as a law clerk, but was hired by the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy in October 2020 and placed in the Danville trial office, located in Boyle County, where she now practices privately, according to the Kentucky Bar Association website.
However, Mundhenk is banned from entering the local detention center to speak with her clients, records show. She was first reprimanded for her behavior with inmates at the facility while she worked as a public defender.
Conversations ‘non-legal, personal banter’
In April 2022, Mundhenk’s supervisor was provided with text conversations between herself and a client — identified in court documents as D.C. — that occurred on a personal account under the name “Stef Elaine,” and through her state-appointed cell phone, according to personnel documents.
Not only did this result in action from the Department of Public Advocacy, but also the jail, who banned Mundhenk from being admitted to the secure side of the jail, and required meetings with facility clients to be through security glass.
Records show Mundhenk communicated with her client to plan personal meetings and put money on his jail account. Mundhenk has also alleged to have “compromised case strategy discussions.”
Text message transcripts show Mundhenk was communicating with D.C. about her personal gym workouts, case strategy, music suggestions, and religion.
“If God is anything like a prosecutor or judge then I don’t wanna go to heaven anyway lmao. My ass will be just fine in jail,” Mundhenk wrote.
When confronted by an investigator, Mundhenk admitted the conversations were unprofessional, but also that she had inappropriate, sexual conversations with another client, identified as D.H., according to personnel records.
In a May 2022 letter from the state public advocate, Damon Preston, Mundhenk was made aware she would be suspended for two-days without pay, and would be transferred to another office due to her “lack of good behavior” and “unsatisfactory performance of duties.”
“Your behavior demonstrates a concerning lack of boundaries and communications that disregarded your ethical responsibilities to these clients,” Preston wrote.
As a result Mundhenk was transferred to the Bullitt County trial office — where she also has restricted access as a result of inappropriate communication with inmates whom she represents, documents show.
In a second letter of reprimand addressed to Mundhenk dated Sept. 13, 2022, Preston informed her she would now be suspended for three days without pay. A month before, Mundhenk’s supervisor received text conversations between her and another client, B.R.
According to personnel documents, Mundhenk exchanged nearly 1,000 text messages with the inmate between July 8 and Aug. 16, 2022, with some taking place outside business hours and on weekends.
Preston described the texts’ content as “nonlegal, personal banter” which contained a number of statements that discussed the strategies of B.R.’s case and could potentially be used by the state against her client, as the jail texts are non-confidential.
Because of the nature and volume of the two’s text exchange, the Bullitt County Detention Center restricted Mundhenk’s in-person access to clients.
“...Meaning that your future clients will not have the same ability to have private unobstructed confidential meetings with their attorney that clients of other attorneys will have,” Preston wrote in the reprimand letter.
She resigned from her position with the Department of Public Advocacy (DPA) in August 2023, personnel records show.
Other than verifying employment, Preston said he had no further comment relating to her performance with the agency.
However, Preston did elaborate on the “innumerable” amount of challenges public defenders face in serving clients and the public; that attorneys must have open and confidential access to clients to provide effective representation.
“(Department of Public Advocacy) seeks to work with jails and prisons to meet the security interests of the facilities while still ensuring that defenders can do their job,” Preston told the Herald-Leader.
“If DPA employees comply by the rules of a facility, they should be able to communicate with clients privately without unreasonable limitations. On the other hand, employees who violate facility rules may lose visiting privileges. Because criminal defense attorneys must be able to meet with clients in jails or prisons, losing access means that defenders would no longer be able to perform the requirements of their position.”
Nelson County texts show sexual relationship with client
In Nelson County, Mundhenk is not allowed to visit inmates in-person, but only through Zoom, after her interactions became sexual in nature with her client, E.L., records show.
Mundhenk was discovered by jail staff to be interacting with E.L. inside the facility using burner phones and attempting to shield their conversations, which were sexually explicit, from being recorded.
Nearly 2,000 messages sent through the jail’s Chirp system were discovered by Nelson County Corrections Center Jailer, Justin Hall, in February 2024. Hall contacted Nelson Circuit Court Judge Charles Simms about his concerns and sought advice on next steps.
While their messages contained graphic sexual depictions, they also referenced the two being married. Mundhenk allegedly deposited $305 into the inmate’s account, which, Hall noted, was “unheard of” during his time in corrections.
In one message to Mundhenk, E.L. wrote: “I think you would look good in my shirt. It would look even better on the floor where it will probably end up.”
In many texts sent to Mundhenk, her client would outline the things he would like to do with her. In another instance, he asked her the type of perfume she was wearing during their meeting so he could buy it to spray on his pillow.
“I don’t think they sell that in commissary,” she responded.
Outside of their sexual conversations, Mundhenk would share with E.L. when she won or lost cases in court, and speak to him about how she felt about the justice system overall.
“It is apparent that (the inmate) and Attorney Mundhenk have more than a professional relationship,” Hall wrote.
Hall said he was made aware of a similar investigation conducted by the Oldham County Detention Center concerning Mundhenk and alleged inappropriate behavior with another inmate, resulting in her removal from another client’s case.
Actions self-reported to KY Bar Association
Simms ordered Mundhenk to appear before his court to argue why she should not be removed from E.L.’s Nelson County case, court documents show.
The judge’s order claims Mundhenk violated rules of the Kentucky Supreme Court by providing financial assistance to the client, as well as allegedly engaging in a sexual relationship with him. Mundhenk denied violating the rules, but did agree with a potential conflict of interest.
On March 4, Mundhenk self-reported the matter to the Kentucky Bar Association by forwarding to the Kentucky Bar Association’s Office of Bar Council a copy of Simms’ motion, court documents show. She withdrew from the case in March.
She has not received any public discipline from the KBA as of Sept. 19.
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