Ex-KCK cop Golubski pleads not guilty to federal charges at first court appearance
Former Kansas City, Kansas, police detective Roger Golubski pleaded not guilty Thursday afternoon to six federal charges that accuse him of sexually abusing two women and depriving them of their civil rights.
At his first court appearance at the federal courthouse in Topeka, Golubski, 69, at times shook his head “no” as U.S. Magistrate Judge Rachel Schwartz read the indictment against him. He was brought into the courtroom with his hands and feet restrained in cuffs.
A detention hearing has been set for Monday afternoon. It means Golubski will remain over the weekend in custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Golubski’s court-appointed attorney, Tom Lemon, said Golubski suffers from serious health problems, including renal failure that requires dialysis every other day. Lemon described Golubski’s health issues as “fairly life threatening” and said he did not know what pre-trial detention would look like because of them.
If convicted, Golubski faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Earlier in the day, Golubski was arrested by the FBI at his Edwardsville home. He was charged with six federal counts of deprivation of civil rights for allegedly sexually assaulting two people multiple times from 1998 to 2002. The indictment said his conduct included aggravated sexual abuse, sexual assault and kidnapping, according to court documents.
Golubski retired in 2010 from the KCK police department after 35 years on the force. After leaving KCK, and collecting his pension, he went to the Edwardsville Police Department, where he worked as a detective until 2016.
Egregious accusations against Golubski came to light in the exoneration of Lamonte McIntyre, who was freed in 2017 after serving 23 years for a double homicide he did not commit. A lawsuit he filed accused Golubski of not only using his position to sexually abuse Black women, but of framing innocent people for crimes committed by others, including drug dealers who paid him.
Earlier this year, the Unified Government settled McIntyre’s lawsuit for $12.5 million — the largest public wrongful conviction settlement in Kansas history.
This story was originally published September 15, 2022 at 3:02 PM.
