Prosecutors detail more rape claims in effort to keep ex-cop Roger Golubski detained
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Allegations against former KCK cop Roger Golubski
The Star has reported extensively on former Kansas City, Kansas, detective Roger Golubski and allegations that he victimized Black women during his years on the force.
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Editor’s note: This story contains graphic descriptions of sexual assault and abuse.
Federal prosecutors have revealed more about their case against Roger Golubski in the hopes of keeping him detained before trial, including the accounts of seven other women who brought allegations against the former Kansas City, Kansas, detective.
In a 25-page motion for pre-trial detention, prosecutors on Friday provided graphic details of the accusations from two women, one of whom was a minor at the time, that led to Golubski’s arrest. They also included claims made by seven other unnamed victims, all women who say Golubski raped them or tried to while acting under the color of the law.
“Detention is necessary because clear and convincing evidence establishes that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the safety of other people or the community,” federal prosecutors wrote.
Golubski, 69, was charged with six counts of depriving the civil rights of two women in the federal indictment unsealed Thursday. The former officer, who retired in 2010 as a captain, is accused of sexually abusing and kidnapping those two women from 1998 to 2002.
The former cop pleaded not guilty Thursday. His lawyer did not respond to an email seeking comment on the detention motion Friday.
Prosecutors provided more details about the alleged rapes of the two women, whose accounts are outlined in the indictment. One was a teenager when she was abused by Golubski, she said, and feared he could “shoot her.” The other woman, Ophelia Williams, who has gone public with her allegations, said Golubski told her she “would never be found” if she reported him.
The seven other victims, whose allegations have not led to charges, described encounters with Golubski that ranged from the 1980s until as recently as 2004. He allegedly cornered and threatened them all, sometimes displaying his police badge and gun.
One woman, identified as “Other Victim 1” in court papers, alleges she met with Golubski in his office sometime in the mid-1980s as she sought help with a traffic ticket. She accepted an invitation to have lunch, she said, during which Golubski allegedly made “sexually suggestive comments” and offered to take her to a motel. Prosecutors allege the cop offered her money when she declined.
She thought Golubski was driving her back to her house when he pulled into a cemetery instead and began fondling her, the woman told investigators. He then allegedly demanded she provide oral sex before reaching toward his holstered gun.
After allegedly raping her, Golubski drove her out of the cemetery, dropped her off miles away from her house and told her to remain silent about what occurred, prosecutors say.
“They will believe me before they will ever (expletive) believe you,” the then-officer allegedly said.
Another victim told investigators she was walking home with groceries in the mid-1980s when Golubski pulled up in his vehicle and offered her a ride. She refused at first, she said, but got in after Golubski flashed his badge.
He allegedly drove her to a cemetery as well, fondled her breasts and began masturbating as the woman tried to escape the car — only to find it was locked. Golubski then grabbed her by her neck and forced himself on her, according to court papers.
She was dropped off at her apartment, the woman recalled, and warned not to say anything.
The third victim was in her early 20s when she walked to a nearby park after having an argument with her boyfriend. She said Golubski drove up to her, identified himself as an officer and showed his badge. She “felt safe” getting into his car at first, prosecutors say.
She described being driven to a small field before Golubski demanded she perform oral sex. She feared being hurt or killed in the dark, secluded place and was raped by him as he told her not to fight, prosecutors allege.
The woman visited Truman Medical Center and a rape kit was used. When medical staff there called the police for her to file a report, she left “terrified” before they arrived. She recalled seeing Golubski again two months later, and told him she was keeping quiet. She feared for her safety and worried that Golubski would “put a case” on her brother, according to prosecutors.
In 1990, another woman reported meeting with Golubski as her husband was the target of a criminal investigation the detective was leading. She told prosecutors Golubski sexually assaulted and raped her periodically between the mid-1990s through 2004.
She said he threatened to take away her children if she ever told anyone.
The woman moved away and did not see him again until she was in the hospital more than 10 years later, prosecutors allege. She recalled Golubski visited her room and said: “Long time no see,” an event that terrified her enough to change hospitals.
Also in 1990, another alleged victim said she was 18 when Golubski visited her home as part of an investigation. She said he came back on several occasions to meet her there, until one day he brought her to a restaurant and put his hand on her thigh.
Golubski allegedly asked her if she had “ever been with a white guy.” She felt pressured to go out with him because he was a cop, the woman said, and he eventually pressured her for sex.
“After (Other Victim 5) declined, those close to her began getting into trouble with police,” prosecutors wrote in the motion.
During a visit to the police station two or three years later, the woman told investigators Golubski lifted her dress, held her thighs and “aggressively attempted to perform oral sex” on her. She said she pushed him away and resisted until Golubski eventually let her leave.
In 2004, a sixth alleged victim reported Golubksi visited her home while investigating a drive-by shooting. A few days later, as she was driving to work, Golubski allegedly pulled her over and told her he “knew her sons were involved with criminal activity” and threatened to arrest her unless she had sex with him.
She refused, she said, and was told by Golubski that he would “take her sons down,” according to prosecutors. She also alleged KCKPD’s internal affairs office told her they could do nothing about her report because it was her word against his.
She described other instances where she was harassed, saying Golubski taunted her after arresting her brother a little more than a year later.
Also in 2004, prosecutors allege Golubski called a seventh victim after seeing her booking photograph and asked her to meet him at the city courthouse.
The woman said he escorted her into an empty office building, identified himself as the KCKPD homicide captain, and offered to help her out with a local prosecutor on a criminal case. He then tried to kiss her and started touching himself, she told investigators.
As she fought off his advances, she said, Golubski only stopped after a person knocked on the door.
“He told (Other Victim 7) that if she told anyone, she would end up in the morgue, and he would cover it up,” prosecutors wrote.
Legal arguments
Golubski, who retired from the police force in 2010 and has never been convicted of a crime, made his first court appearance Thursday,
Tom Lemon, Golubski’s court-appointed defense attorney, advised the judge of concerns about Golubski’s physical health, suggesting the court should take those factors into account while weighing the possibility of detaining him until trial.
Prosecutors, however, believe Golubski “is more dangerous — not less — today.”
While Golubski’s charged crimes occurred decades ago, he has demonstrated a continued pattern of “engaging in predatory behavior and implicit and explicit threats,” prosecutors wrote, referencing the account of the woman who alleges Golubski visited her in the hospital years after assaulting her.
“The defendant’s victims live in fear because he has used his position of power to terrorize and traumatize them,” the prosecution’s motion says, adding: “He has spent decades lording his power over his victims and the community by demonstrating how unbound by legal limits he feels.”
The detention hearing is scheduled for Monday afternoon at the federal courthouse in Topeka.
This story was originally published September 16, 2022 at 8:38 PM.
