LJWorld.com

Note: This article is part of a weeklong series, running March 14 to March 20, honoring Sunshine Week.

Related document

Total allegations of sexual misconduct behind bars ( .XLS )

Photo by Patrick Giroux

In October, Gov. Mark Parkinson ordered an investigation into the Topeka Correctional Facility — the state's only women's prison — following inmate allegations of sexual misconduct by prison staff.

A plumbing instructor at the prison was convicted of several charges after impregnating an inmate in a sex-for-contraband arrangement. Another prison employee was arrested in February facing similar charges of sexual misconduct at TCF.

But was the sexual misconduct at TCF an isolated series of incidents, or were the problems systemic and indicative of a larger issue of sexual misconduct in the Kansas prison system?

A open records request revealed 477 allegations of sexual misconduct in four-year periods among the nearly 9,000 adults and juveniles in Kansas correctional facilities.

The cases range from inmate-on-inmate sexual violence to staff members coercing inmates into sex.

But the details about the vast majority of these cases are rarely known outside prison walls, and a Journal-World investigation revealed that more than 20 prison employees have resigned or been fired because of sexual misconduct during the past four years.

Here’s a look at some of the key findings:

How often is sexual misconduct reported?

• About 100 allegations were reported each year in Kansas prisons between 2005 and 2008.
• Between 2006 and 2009, about 20 allegations of sexual misconduct were reported annually in the state’s juvenile facilities.
• About half of the reports allege inmate-on-inmate sexual misconduct, and the other half involve staff misconduct.

How does Kansas compare?

Confidential surveys administered by the Bureau of Justice Statistics provide some way to compare rates in Kansas facilities with national figures:

• In a 2007 survey, 4.5 percent of inmates nationwide reported sexual victimization in the previous 12 months, compared with 5 percent in Kansas’ Hutchinson facility.
• In a 2008-2009 survey of juvenile detainees nationally, 12 percent reported being victimized, compared with 14 and 16 percent at Kansas’ two juvenile facilities.

How do sexual misconduct report rates in Kansas correctional facilities compare with sexual assault reports in Lawrence?

• Between 2004 and 2008, an average of 134 sexual assaults were reported annually in Lawrence, compared with about 118 yearly in a four-year period in Kansas correctional facilities.
• Factoring in Lawrence’s population of about 90,000, and with inmates and juveniles in Kansas numbering about 9,000, the report rate behind bars is about 10 times higher. However, some offenses that are reported in Kansas prisons, such as staff sexual harassment, would not be considered “sexual assaults” in the general population.

Copyright 2012 The Lawrence Journal-World. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. We strive to uphold our values for every story published.