A white
Kansas police detective accused of sexually assaulting Black women and girls and terrorizing those who tried to fight back is about to go on
federal trial, part of a tangle of cases tied to decades of alleged abuse.
Prosecutors say female residents of poor neighborhoods in Kansas City, Kansas, feared that if they crossed paths with Roger Golubski, he'd demand sexual favors and threaten to harm or jail their relatives. He is charged with six felony counts of violating women's
civil rights, and jury selection in his trial is set to begin Monday in a federal courthouse in Topeka.
The case has outraged the community and deepened the historical distrust of law enforcement, often seen as being more heavy-handed in predominately Black neighborhoods. The prosecution follows earlier reports of similar abuse allegations across the country where hundreds of officers have lost their badges after allegations of sexual assaults.
Golubski, now 71, is accused of sexually assaulting one woman starting when she was barely a teenager and another after her sons were arrested. If a jury convicts him, he could die in prison.
The trial is the latest in a string of lawsuits and criminal allegations that has led the county prosecutor's office to begin a $1.7 million effort to reexamine cases Golubski worked on during his 35 years on the force. One double murder case Golubski investigated already has resulted in an exoneration, and an organization run by rapper Jay-Z is suing to obtain police records.
Golubski has pleaded not guilty, and his attorney has said that lawsuits over the allegations are an "inspiration for fabrication" by his accusers. But prosecutors said that, along with the two women whose accounts are the heart of the criminal case, seven others will testify that Golubski abused or harassed them.……
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...ive-terrorize-black-women-trial-b2657376.html