TOPEKA, Kan. – A former Kansas City, Kansas, police detective who has long been accused of sexually attacking black women during criminal investigations was charged Thursday with sexually abusing two women, the FBI said.
Roger Golubski, 69, was arrested at his Edwardsville home after a federal grand jury charged him with six counts of civil rights violations.
During a 15-minute hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Rebecca Schwarz pleaded not guilty to all six counts against Golubski, who asked to remain silent. She has set a hearing for 3 p.m. Monday to find out whether he should remain behind bars before his trial. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for October 12.
“I am so happy and amazed at the arrest of this man,” one of his alleged victims, Ophelia Williams, said in a statement released by civil rights organization MORE2. “I pray that after so many years we finally get justice, that people can finally relax and that I can finally sleep at night.”
The Associated Press does not usually name alleged victims of sexual assault, but Williams has allowed use of her name in previous articles.
Golubski’s court-appointed attorney, Tom Lemon of Topeka, said he would ask that Golubski be released before trial because he is undergoing daily treatment for serious health conditions, including dialysis three or four days a week. for renal failure.
Golubski is also receiving treatment after a quintuple heart bypass in April and taking insulin shots for diabetes, said Lemon, who declined to comment after the hearing.
“He was told that if he missed six dialysis treatments, he would die,” Lemon told the court. “If he doesn’t get that daily treatment, he’s going to have a hard time helping me in his defence.”
Golubski only spoke when Schwarz asked if he wanted her to appoint a lawyer for him.
Golubski retired in 2010 after working for the Kansas City Police Department for 35 years. The FBI investigated allegations that Golubski, who is white, sexually assaulted black women in the city and traded drugs for information during criminal investigations.
The federal indictment announced Thursday charges Golubski with sexually assaulting two women, identified as SK, and OW, on multiple occasions between 1998 and 2002. The indictment does not specify the race of the women.
He is accused of raping the two women and forcing them to perform oral sex on him several times in his vehicle and at the women’s homes. Golubski’s conduct included aggravated sexual abuse and kidnapping, according to the indictment.
If convicted on any of the counts, Golubski could be sentenced to life in prison.
Civil rights groups have for years called for an investigation into Golubski’s conduct. The allegations against him drew more attention after Lamont McIntyre, who spent 23 years in prison for a double murder he did not commit, sued Golubski and other officers in Kansas City, Kansas, after his release.
McIntyre and her mother, Rose McIntyre, alleged in the lawsuit that Golubski framed Lamont for a double homicide in 1994 because she refused the detective’s sexual requests. The local government agreed in June to settle the lawsuit for $12.5 million.
When filed by McIntyre’s attorneys in the case, Golubski invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination hundreds of times. He has consistently declined media requests to comment on the allegations.
Cheryl Pilate and Lindsay Runnels, attorneys for the McIntyres, congratulated federal law enforcement on the arrest.
“We hope the justice system will be accountable to the community of Kansas City, Kansas,” they said in a statement.
The Midwest Innocence Project, a civil rights group that works to free wrongfully convicted detainees, said in a statement that Golubski’s arrest was “the first step” in bringing justice to those harmed by law enforcement. order, especially black women.
“A full investigation into abuses in Wyandotte County and systemic reforms are needed to ensure that no other police and public officials can continue to abuse their power,” the organization said in a press release. .
Kansas City Police Chief Karl Oakman and Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree each issued a statement pledging to continue to cooperate with the investigation and said the arrest proves no one was above the law.
MORE2 executives, who have also pushed for an investigation of Golubski, applauded his arrest.
“It took over three decades, thirty years for this man to live like he was a law-abiding citizen and he is one of the biggest criminals we have in Wyandotte County,” Violet Martin said. , a MORE 2 board member, in a statement. She thinks her brother and cousin are wrongfully incarcerated because of Golubski.
In 2020, a coalition of Kansas lawmakers, religious leaders, and racial justice advocates asked the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to investigate Golubski and other department members accused of misconduct and abuse.
And in 2021, an organization led by rapper Jay-Z filed a petition asking for police department records related to what it called a history of officer misconduct within the department.
___
This story has been updated to correct that Morgan Roach is no longer Golubski’s attorney.
___
Stafford reported from Liberty, Missouri.
Comments are closed.