NC GAZETTE / WBRT RADIO
STAFF REPORT
Thursday, June 18, 2026 — Nick Houck, the brother of Brooks Houck, the man convicted of murder in the 2015 death of his girlfriend, Crystal Rogers, entered a not guilty plea Thursday morning to first-degree perjury charges in Nelson Circuit Court.
Houck appeared in person before Nelson Circuit Court Judge Charles Simms III without an attorney present.
When asked by Simms why he didn’t have an attorney, Houck told the judge the attorney hasn’t “accepted the case yet and wanted to get more information.”
He also said he wasn’t sure why he was being charged with perjury.
Houck’s mother, Rosemary Houck, was also in the courtroom.
Nick Houck was indicted earlier this month on first-degree perjury charges following an extensive investigation by detectives with the Post 4 KSP post in Elizabethtown. According to KSP, investigators determined that Nick Houck made false statements under oath between July 15, 2015 and April 16, 2023.
Houck was arrested June 4, 2026 and released after he posted a $25,000 cash bond.
The indictment does not specify what exactly the alleged false statements were about, though it is clear they are related to the Crystal Rogers investigation
In the days following Rogers’ disappearance, Nick Houck — while still a member of the Bardstown Police Department — failed a lie detector test when asked about Rogers’ disappearance. In video of that July 2015 video, Houck maintains that the lie detector test was faulty and he knew nothing about Rogers’ whereabouts.
First-degree perjury is a Class D felony punishable by one to five years imprisonment and a fine of $1,000 to $10,000 upon conviction.
During the trial of his brother, Brooks Houick,, and his co-defendants, Nick Houck and his mother Rosemary Houck were referred to as “unindicted co-conspirators” in connection with the Rogers case.
A pretrial conference was set for 9 a.m. July 2, 2026. The judge told Houck he must have an attorney present by that court date.
As with all criminal cases, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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