Idaho DOC Director calls for strengthened sexual abuse law following non-profit watchdog report
By Whitney Bryen / InvestigateWest
Editor's note: “Guarded by Predators” is an investigative series exposing rape and abuse by Idaho’s prison guards and the system that shields them. Find the entire series at investigatewest.org/guarded-by-predators.
IDAHO (InvestigateWest) — For the first time since InvestigateWest exposed widespread sexual abuse by Idaho prison staff, the director of Idaho’s prison system laid out plans to increase protection for inmates and accountability for those accused.
Those plans include the Department of Correction working with lawmakers to change a state law that makes it difficult for prosecutors to criminally charge prison workers who take advantage of inmates. Department of Correction Director Bree Derrick also said the department will review its public records process, implement ways to ensure inmates know their rights, and update its prison sexual misconduct policies — though she did not give specifics about what those policy changes would look like.
Derrick outlined the efforts during a four-hour-long Board of Correction meeting Wednesday in which the board's members — appointed by the governor to provide public oversight of the prison system — pressed Derrick on what the department is doing in response to a series of October reports released by InvestigateWest. The series revealed a decade of unchecked sexual abuse of incarcerated women by the men charged with keeping them safe. More than two dozen women told reporters of the rape, sexual assault and harassment they endured at the hands of prison staff and the retaliation they faced for speaking up.
Board of Correction Chairman Dodds Hayden told Derrick InvestigateWest’s findings warrant a clear message to prison staff that improper conduct won’t be tolerated — “a really loud, repeated message to get us back on track.”
Though the meeting was open to the public, reporters and members of the public were prohibited from bringing devices that could record or photograph officials at the meeting. It was livestreamed but not recorded. No public comment was allowed.
Prison workers accused of sexual misconductAndrea Weiskircher, one of the women who spoke to reporters and advocates for other victims, attended the meeting. She criticized officials after the meeting for failing to seek public input and focusing on policy updates rather than enforcing procedures already in place.
Federal standards and state prison policies prohibit all forms of sexual harassment and assault by prison workers. But Idaho law limits its definition of sexual abuse when the victim is an inmate, which means many abusers are never charged with a crime and those who are typically receive reduced sentences.
Idaho’s law protects inmates from abuse only when staff touch the victim’s genitals or they’re made to touch the genitals of staff. It’s still illegal in Idaho to touch the groin, inner thighs, buttocks, breasts or genital area of any person, including an inmate, without their consent. But those laws don’t recognize the power that prison staff hold over the people in their custody. Incarcerated victims often go along or reluctantly agree to sexual requests from guards because they’re afraid of what will happen if they say no, which is why laws specifically protecting prisoners are needed, according to Derrick and national experts who study prison rape.
In the last decade, 11 Idaho prison staff at men’s and women’s facilities have been prosecuted for sexually assaulting an inmate. Only two were sentenced to a prison term — but instead of serving their yearslong sentences, both served fewer than 10 months in a treatment program where participants are housed separately from the general prison population.
Hayden said there are “several” lawmakers “actively working on” a bill that would expand criminal charges for prison staff who abuse inmates. Hayden did not name any of the lawmakers or specify what changes would be introduced in the upcoming legislative session that begins Jan. 12.
In response to InvestigateWest’s reporting, State Rep. Marco Erickson, R-Idaho Falls, called the loopholes in Idaho’s felony rape law “unacceptable.” In November, Erickson said he would be willing to sponsor a bill that addressed the problem but that he did not have the time or staff to write the language.
“That’s a big hole” in Idaho’s inmate protections, Hayden said during the meeting, pointing to an InvestigateWest article about the law. Derrick agreed.
Lawmakers could look to laws in Arizona and Nevada that more closely mimic federal standards, allowing prosecutors to charge prison staff for coercion, sexual harassment, attempting or requesting sexual contact, which includes contact with parts of the body not covered by Idaho’s law, such as the inner thighs, breasts and buttocks. Neighboring Oregon and Washington have felony laws similar to Idaho’s, but also have laws with reduced punishments that allow prosecutors to charge guards for less severe abuse of an inmate.
Hayden and fellow Board of Correction member Luke Malek encouraged Derrick’s proposal to help people in custody better understand their rights and how to file a report if they face sexual abuse by staff and other inmates. The federal Prison Rape Elimination Act sets the standards for preventing and responding to sexual abuse in prisons nationwide. Training designed for prisoners will be available on tablets that are provided to Idaho inmates, Derrick said. She did not say when the training will be implemented.
Board members opposed one of Derrick’s proposals to hire a third-party to perform a “full-blown cultural assessment.” Having just heard a budget presentation that painted a bleak picture, board members asked Derrick about the cost of such an evaluation. Derrick estimated it would cost between $50,000 and $75,000, which board members said wasn’t justified in light of recent state budget cuts, crumbling prison infrastructure and because prisons are already required to undergo federal audits.
Prisons are required to be audited at least every three years to ensure compliance with federal sexual abuse standards. Auditors are trained by the U.S. Department of Justice, paid by Idaho’s prison system and chosen by the facility they’re inspecting. Derrick said the Idaho Department of Correction spends about $50,000 a year on those assessments. The department also receives federal grant money for complying with federal standards, but that was not discussed during the meeting. All Idaho prisons were found in compliance during their most recent audits, Derrick pointed out. But a review of those audit reports by InvestigateWest found discrepancies, such as auditors passing a prison even after finding that the prison wasn’t referring sexual abuse complaints to law enforcement, as the Prison Rape Elimination Act calls for.
Derrick said Idaho’s next audit is scheduled for January at the Pocatello women’s prison.
As part of the Department of Correction’s efforts to improve safety, Derrick said it’s reviewing its staff sexual misconduct policy. Policies are regularly reviewed, but Derrick said prison officials are looking more closely at the policy following recent public scrutiny. She did not provide details about how the policy might change but said staff would be trained in all policy changes.
Idaho’s prison policies align with federal policies designed to protect inmates from sexual abuse. However, InvestigateWest reporters found that those policies are not being enforced. In September, Derrick told a reporter that there is little oversight of facilities to ensure sexual abuse complaints are properly investigated. The Department of Correction employee whose job is to ensure facilities comply with federal standards retired in September. The department is “actively recruiting” for someone to fill the role, Derrick said at the meeting Wednesday.
Derrick told board members that the department’s public records process is also under review due to the way employees responsible for providing records handled requests and questions from reporters.
“Let’s just say they were less than helpful,” Derrick said of the department’s records employees.
During a nearly yearlong investigation, InvestigateWest reporters filed more than 40 requests for records, including complaints of sexual abuse against staff and disciplinary reports. Some requests went unanswered for months, and most of the requests were denied days before the news reports were published. A denial letter claims personnel files are exempt from disclosure.
No one at the Department of Correction was able to tell InvestigateWest how many sexual misconduct complaints had been filed against prison staff or their outcomes, despite federal requirements to track both. Those records are supposed to be verified by federal auditors.
When asked by a reporter at Wednesday’s meeting what had changed about the records process, Derrick said it was still being reviewed.
After hearing of InvestigateWest’s findings, Gov. Brad Little said in a statement that he “asked the Board of Correction to review the cases in question,” referring to allegations highlighted by reporters. Reviews of abuse allegations were not discussed during Wednesday’s meeting. When asked about the governor’s request, Hayden said he was unaware of a request to review specific cases. After confirming with Derrick, Hayden said cases are only being reviewed if new evidence is presented.
The governor’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions.
The Department of Correction recently reopened an allegation made by Weiskircher in the summer of 2024 and reversed its finding. Weiskircher claimed that a prison delivery worker had kissed her while she was incarcerated. Her allegation was initially marked as unfounded or “determined not to have occurred” by the department and by Idaho State Police. The department reopened her allegation and changed its finding to substantiated or “determined to have occurred” following a report from InvestigateWest about her claims.
There was no mention of Weiskircher’s claims or a review of any others at Wednesday’s meeting.
Weiskircher, who was released to parole in June and is participating in drug court, supports changes to Idaho's law criminalizing sexual abuse against inmates. But overall, she was disappointed by the meeting. Changes to policies won’t solve anything, she said.
“They’re not enforcing those policies anyway so what does it matter if they change them,” Weiskircher said. “They’re not listening to us, to what we have to say about any of it.”
InvestigateWest (invw.org) is an independent news nonprofit dedicated to investigative journalism in the Pacific Northwest. Reporter Whitney Bryen can be reached at 208-918-2458, whitney@invw.org and on X @WhitneyBryen.
