Warden quits over sex,
drug allegations

Officers face charges including
having sex with Hawaii inmates

CORRECTION Saturday, March 5, 2005 » The alleged sexual misconduct of guards at the Brush Correctional Facility for Women in Colorado involved two female inmates from Hawaii, two from Colorado and four from Wyoming. Page A1 articles yesterday and on Feb. 26 incorrectly reported that four inmates from Hawaii, two from Colorado and one from Wyoming were involved. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at corrections@starbulletin.com.

The warden of a privately run prison in Colorado where 79 Hawaii female inmates are held has resigned, as five corrections officers face charges of sexual misconduct and contraband trafficking.

Brush Correctional Facility Warden Rick Soares quit on Feb. 18, said Alison Morgan, Colorado Department of Corrections spokeswoman. The warden was not implicated in any wrongdoing.

The Corrections Department referred contraband allegations involving two staff members and one inmate, and sexual misconduct allegations involving three staff members, to the Colorado District Attorney on Thursday.

Tennessee-based GRW Corp. operates the women's facility, which also holds 73 inmates from Colorado and 45 from Wyoming.

Three officers had sex with four Hawaii inmates, two Colorado inmates and one Wyoming inmate, Morgan said. Two of the officers have resigned, and a third is on administrative leave.

Some of the women say they were raped, but investigators concluded the sex was consensual and sometimes initiated by inmates, Morgan said. Having sex with inmates is a felony offense for correctional officers.

Morgan said some Hawaii and Wyoming inmates acknowledged they had sex with the guards because they believed they would be returned home, where they would be closer to relatives.

"This behavior will not be tolerated in our facility or theirs," said Richard Bissen, Hawaii Department of Public Safety acting director. "This is a serious matter. We are holding Colorado officials responsible for keeping our inmates safe."

The state has yet to receive a report that the investigation has been completed, and Bissen said he learned of the warden's resignation through media reports.

He said the state will decide whether it needs to take further action after it receives a final report of the investigation.

Bissen said he first heard about sexual misconduct allegations involving two inmates in a Jan. 20 report.

"We don't know if (the sex) was consensual," Bissen said.

The two inmates have been transferred back to Hawaii.

State DPS officials, who went to Colorado and returned yesterday, are scheduled to meet with Bissen on Monday.

"We are watching this very closely and have taken appropriate actions thus far," Bissen said.

As for the contraband allegations, Morgan said two officers and an inmate were caught sneaking tobacco into the prison.

The Colorado Department of Corrections is sending 20 experts to train and mentor Brush prison officers for the next 30 days, she said.

GRW opened the 248-bed women's facility in Brush, Colo., two years ago. It was previously a vacant state youth facility.

The Hawaii female inmates were transferred there last year. The state previously had a contract to hold Hawaii female inmates in the state-run Mabel Bassett Correctional Center in McLoud, Okla.