ADAIR COUNTY, Ky. – A Kentucky woman accused of sexually abusing a juvenile detention student and later soliciting him to kill her husband has been found guilty on several charges following a two-day trial in September.
Elena Bardin, 28, was arrested in April after police alleged she had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a teen inmate at the Adair Juvenile Detention Center, where she worked as an instructor. She was also accused of asking the teen to murder her husband, Michael Bardin, 49, the father of her 5-year-old child.
Court documents show Bardin initially faced three counts of sexual abuse, solicitation of murder, and distribution of obscene material, after investigators discovered letters and explicit content in the victim’s possession. Additional charges of unlawful transaction with a minor were later added, accusing her of encouraging sexual activity with the teen.
At trial, jurors convicted Bardin of one count of sexual abuse, one count of unlawful transaction with a minor, and one count of distributing obscene material to a minor. She was acquitted of solicitation of murder.
Both Bardin’s estranged husband and the teenage victim testified for the prosecution. Bardin did not testify in her own defense, and her legal team called no witnesses.
The jury has recommended a total of 14 years in prison—four years for sexual abuse and ten years for the unlawful transaction charge, to be served consecutively. Bardin is scheduled to be sentenced on November 13.
Her attorney has already filed a motion challenging the verdict, claiming inconsistencies in the victim’s testimony and seeking a new trial or acquittal.
Bardin is also involved in a separate family court case regarding custody and visitation rights with her 5-year-old child. Her husband filed for divorce one month after her arrest.
Requests for comment from Bardin’s attorney have not been returned.
