Inquiry into jail begins

The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a civil-rights investigation into the King County Jail in Seattle, focusing on sexual abuse of inmates and on allegations of inadequate suicide prevention and contagious-disease control.

Lawyers from the department's Special Litigation Section met with jail and public-health officials Monday and will conduct a wide-ranging investigation that may be expanded beyond those topics. The county learned of the investigation in a letter received by King County Executive Ron Sims last month.

"I can confirm the existence of an investigation ... into the King County Jail," said Cynthia Magnuson, a spokeswoman for the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. "Beyond that, I cannot comment."

The investigation will focus on the jail in downtown Seattle and will not involve the Regional Justice Center in Kent.

Two former jail guards have been convicted of sex-related acts with female inmates and a third is awaiting a retrial after a jury failed to reach a verdict. The assaults surfaced in April 2005 after a female inmate was transferred to state prison and spoke up about the assault.

One of the former officers, Louis G. Laurencio, was sentenced to four months in jail last week after pleading guilty to inappropriately touching an inmate and photographing her breasts.

A report commissioned by the county and released two weeks ago found that a sexualized work environment, meager training and poor communication are among the root causes of the string of sexual-misconduct allegations against corrections officers with the King County Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention.

Cedric McGrew, who coerced an inmate to perform oral sex, is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 15. Harland Richmond, accused of exposing himself to women and of later having sex with two female inmates, is scheduled for a second trial soon. His first trial ended in a mistrial in August when the jury failed to agree on a verdict.

"We've been pretty aggressive in dealing with jail staff misconduct," said Carolyn Duncan, a spokeswoman for Sims.

Jail Director Reed Holtgeerts said the county will cooperate fully with the DOJ investigation.

According to a list provided by the county, seven inmates have committed suicide while in custody since Jan. 1, 1999. They include three hangings, two self-induced poisonings, a suicide by jumping and a carbon-monoxide asphyxiation by an inmate on home confinement, according to inmate death certificates.

The jail also has investigated reports of potentially dangerous infections, including a jail death involving "methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus," or MRSA, commonly called "Mersa."

In a letter last December to the Metropolitan King County Council, Dorothy Teeter, the interim director of the Seattle-King County Public Health Department, said Jail Health Services staff has been trained to prevent and watch for MRSA infections.

Mike Carter: 206-464-3706