Sexual Abuse Against Staff Runs Rampant in Missouri Prisons
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What if I told you that someone who has committed hundreds of sex crimes could be living next door to you or sitting on the park bench where your children play without registering as a sex offender? What if I told you that you could go to work everyday and be accosted by men over and over again who expose themselves to you and never see criminal charges? Guess what? This is reality.
Staff, volunteers and contract workers in Missouri's prisons are subjected to sexual abuse on a regular basis by offenders who are rarely held accountable for their actions. For female staff, especially nurses in the correctional system, it is commonly known and accepted that when they walk into a segregation housing unit that they will be subjected to offenders exposing themselves and openly masturbating in front of them. Offenders do often receive a conduct violation for this behavior, but this is little more than a slap on the wrist and their actions are never treated as sex crimes.
The fact is that it is not the action but the location. These offenders get a pass because they are incarcerated even though an individual on the outside who committed the same action would be charged with a crime. The prosecutor might feel that it's a waste of time and money to charge those who are already in prison, but the thing is, the department rarely submits these crimes for prosecution. What we have is a blind spot in which the general public does not see what's happening and so it is allowed to continue. Crimes against women are not considered crimes if they happen behind the walls.
If you are asking "Why does it matter? They are already in prison." then this is for you. (1.) No employee should ever feel like they have to accept abuse on the job while supervisors avoid responsibility for protecting the safety of their staff. Caution blunt talk ahead: Imagine you get a job in a restaurant and on your first day the manager says "You'll be working with Ricky today. Ricky likes to pull his penis out. He's probably going to openly masturbate while screaming at you calling you a dirty whore. But that's just Ricky. He's been here a long time." Is that acceptable? No. It isn't. And furthermore, Ricky's going to jail and the manager is going to lose one hell of a lawsuit for allowing it in his workplace. (2.) Often these are people who will not be in prison forever. Just one example, one offender in Jefferson City Correctional Center has over 90 violations for sexual misconduct against staff. He is incarcerated for burglary and will be out in a few short years. He has not been charged for any of his sex crimes, he will receive no prison time for them--only serving the current sentence, and when he is released, he will not have to register as a sex offender even though he has committed many sex crimes. This offender is not a rare case either. He is one of many in the Missouri Department of Corrections who will never see punishment for his crimes because the department permits his behavior.
There have been many cases in which individuals have had to register as sex offenders for questionable reasons, such as the man who was charged for being naked in his own home when trespassers saw him through his window. So why is it that individuals on the outside get thrown on the registry without hesitation while prison offenders can openly engage in sexual misconduct and it's ignored. It is because the general public doesn't see it and doesn't know about it, so the department doesn't have to worry about bad press. The Missouri Department of Corrections relies on all of its dirt being kept out of public view. The inner-workings of the prison system would shock the public if they knew, and the fact that it is hidden behind the prison walls means DOC can get away with whatever they want, and can allow whatever they want. That is why this post is here. Everything they have hidden away is coming out. It is time the public knows.
Do you have information from Missouri Department of Corrections that the public needs to know about? Contact us to have your story published.
What if I told you that someone who has committed hundreds of sex crimes could be living next door to you or sitting on the park bench where your children play without registering as a sex offender? What if I told you that you could go to work everyday and be accosted by men over and over again who expose themselves to you and never see criminal charges? Guess what? This is reality.
Staff, volunteers and contract workers in Missouri's prisons are subjected to sexual abuse on a regular basis by offenders who are rarely held accountable for their actions. For female staff, especially nurses in the correctional system, it is commonly known and accepted that when they walk into a segregation housing unit that they will be subjected to offenders exposing themselves and openly masturbating in front of them. Offenders do often receive a conduct violation for this behavior, but this is little more than a slap on the wrist and their actions are never treated as sex crimes.
The fact is that it is not the action but the location. These offenders get a pass because they are incarcerated even though an individual on the outside who committed the same action would be charged with a crime. The prosecutor might feel that it's a waste of time and money to charge those who are already in prison, but the thing is, the department rarely submits these crimes for prosecution. What we have is a blind spot in which the general public does not see what's happening and so it is allowed to continue. Crimes against women are not considered crimes if they happen behind the walls.
If you are asking "Why does it matter? They are already in prison." then this is for you. (1.) No employee should ever feel like they have to accept abuse on the job while supervisors avoid responsibility for protecting the safety of their staff. Caution blunt talk ahead: Imagine you get a job in a restaurant and on your first day the manager says "You'll be working with Ricky today. Ricky likes to pull his penis out. He's probably going to openly masturbate while screaming at you calling you a dirty whore. But that's just Ricky. He's been here a long time." Is that acceptable? No. It isn't. And furthermore, Ricky's going to jail and the manager is going to lose one hell of a lawsuit for allowing it in his workplace. (2.) Often these are people who will not be in prison forever. Just one example, one offender in Jefferson City Correctional Center has over 90 violations for sexual misconduct against staff. He is incarcerated for burglary and will be out in a few short years. He has not been charged for any of his sex crimes, he will receive no prison time for them--only serving the current sentence, and when he is released, he will not have to register as a sex offender even though he has committed many sex crimes. This offender is not a rare case either. He is one of many in the Missouri Department of Corrections who will never see punishment for his crimes because the department permits his behavior.
There have been many cases in which individuals have had to register as sex offenders for questionable reasons, such as the man who was charged for being naked in his own home when trespassers saw him through his window. So why is it that individuals on the outside get thrown on the registry without hesitation while prison offenders can openly engage in sexual misconduct and it's ignored. It is because the general public doesn't see it and doesn't know about it, so the department doesn't have to worry about bad press. The Missouri Department of Corrections relies on all of its dirt being kept out of public view. The inner-workings of the prison system would shock the public if they knew, and the fact that it is hidden behind the prison walls means DOC can get away with whatever they want, and can allow whatever they want. That is why this post is here. Everything they have hidden away is coming out. It is time the public knows.
Do you have information from Missouri Department of Corrections that the public needs to know about? Contact us to have your story published.
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