***TRIGGER WARNING***

The first story I would like to tell you about touches on a sensitive subject, and that is of SEXUAL ASSAULT & SEXUAL MISCONDUCT in Correctional Facilities. Although this is a NATIONWIDE problem, I will be honing in on one particular jail in order to create awareness and CHANGE.

Many people that are incarcerated find themselves quite vulnerable while locked up in rehabilitation centers, juvenile detention centers, prisons and jails. One might think that there would be enough cameras and eyes in these places, that this sort of thing wouldn't happen often. However, when predators have their minds set on offending, they look for windows of opportunity to do so. 

During my year long investigation into the Warren County Jail in Bowling Green, Kentucky I have learned that some victims of assault and sexual misconduct or harassment are afraid to come forward. They might be afraid of retaliation. This is a common fear of any sexual assault victim, whether inside or outside of the confines of a correctional facility. Due to respecting an alleged victims privacy, I will not mention names or details. 

However, this particular jail has had a fair share of allegations against it for sexual assaults. One example is that of a female that alleged she had been sexually assaulted many years ago, and her case went on in court for 7 YEARS!

**Guess what the final outcome was? The alleged victim lost her case and the alleged perpetrator walked free. You must ask yourself, WHY would a victim fight a PREA case such as this for 7 YEARS if it wasn't true? You can find more information on that case at the following link: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2022/05/03/woman-who-alleged-rape-warren-county-jail-officer-drops-lawsuit/9627255002/

• In the following and more recent news article, you will see that the Jailer Steve Harmon did contact the Kentucky State Police about a sexual assault allegation.
• The newspaper concludes with the jail stating that this alleged perpetrator had only worked for the jail for 3 months.
• This doesn't preclude the Jailer from accountability, or does it?
• I wonder if the alleged victim tried coming forward early on? Was the victim believed or ignored?

You can read about this case at the following link: https://www.k105.com/2023/06/02/former-warren-co-deputy-jailer-accused-of-inappropriate-sexual-conduct/

***Upon further digging, I discovered that in the 2021 PREA Audit of the jails handling of sexual misconduct cases was not exemplary. 

1. At first glance it appears that they got an A+ during their audit. However, I read every word of the 163 page report and noticed some uncanny details. I would like to share these with the public.
2. It appears as though Jailer Steve Harmon had NOT filed all of the proper paperwork for their records, and in fact sometimes didn't even possess the paperwork in the building! It's pretty hard to follow PREA guidelines if you don't have the paperwork, right?

This comes straight from the audit:

https://www.warrencountyjail.com/WCRJ_Final_PREA_Report.pdf

1. "RETALIATION CONSEQUENCES FORM" -- The audit says that there was no documentation of how they were handling retaliation when men & women speak out about sex abuse while in their facility. As a result the auditor printed some off for the Jailer and requested that he start using them. 
2. There were a few other PREA forms that the jail had not been filling out as well. 
3. Every 3 years jails are supposed to do an audit of their handling of sexual assault cases. Warren County Regional Jail had not had a review in 5 years prior to the 2021 PREA Audit!!! Just imagine being detained in this overcrowded jail for months, without any serious oversight of sexual assault complaints. This is not a place any of us would want to be.
4. "Just Detention International" (mentioned in the audit) had not had any communication with the jail in the previous 12 months of the audit. JUST DETENTION is an advocacy org for inmates. Why had they not heard from the Jailer? Because complaints of sexual misconduct and assault were squashed. 
5. The report stated: There were 13 cases in 2021 of sexual abuse, sexual harassment while being in WCRJ!
6. Out of those 13 cases, 4 of them were labeled UNFOUNDED (2 were by jail staff against inmates) and those two cases were considered UNFOUNDED & CLOSED. Therefore, the auditor could NOT investigate those as they were "CLOSED." The jail had no intention of investigating those. 
7. Oh yeah! The audit also showed there were ZERO Grievances!

***Must be nice after 5 long years, for a jail to get a clean bill of health!

The sad truth is that there were probably many more cases than those that were documented and discarded. In the beginning of my investigation, inmates told me that they were afraid to speak out about anything.

• They said their medical needs were ignored, their physical needs were not handled properly and many were afraid if they started complaining about their stay in the Warren County Jail that it might negatively impact their cases as well.
• Since they wanted to get out of there ASAP, they were opting and some still opted to remain silent. This is why they need OUR VOICES, and YOUR SIGNATURES! 

I encouraged them to USE THEIR VOICES and write their complaints, file grievances and to stand up for their HUMAN RIGHTS. Many are doing this and some are even working from the inside to help others! 

PLEASE SHARE THIS PETITION! More stories to come . . .