PIKEVILLE, Ky. — A former nurse from Letcher County who sought to challenge her guilty plea to around two dozen criminal charges earlier this year will have to live with that plea, at least for now.

Carrie Hall, 44, of Whitesburg, pleaded guilty to the charges, including rape, sodomy, sex abuse, using a minor in a sexual performance, bribing a witness and more, back in April. She was sentenced to six years in prison in June.

She filed a motion in federal court last month, seeking to have her plea and sentence tossed out. She claimed that the only reason she pleaded guilty was because she was convinced she could not receive a fair trial.

However, a federal magistrate judge has recommended that her request be dismissed.

The judge says Hall has admittedly not filed an appeal or sought any other type of relief in state court. He said before the federal court system gets involved in the case, she must first exhaust all of her options in state court.

Hall is currently being held in the Leslie County Detention Center.