Ex-KCK cop Roger Golubski’s trials could include ‘dozens of witnesses,’ but no dates set
A federal prosecutor on Wednesday suggested tentatively setting the trials of former Kansas City, Kansas, police detective Roger Golubski for the spring, but no dates were set.
Instead, U.S. District Judge Toby Crouse scheduled another pre-trial hearing for Oct. 25, giving prosecutors time to notify defense attorneys for Golubski and his co-defendants of what evidence the government plans to put on at trial.
Golubski, a longtime detective in Kansas City, Kansas, who retired from the force in 2010, faces two federal cases that could send him to prison for life: one for allegedly conspiring to sex traffic underage girls between 1996 and 1998 with three other men, and the other stemming from accusations that he sexually abused and kidnapped a woman and a teenage girl from 1998 to 2002.
Golubski was a veteran officer at the time of the alleged crimes, having worked at the KCK department from 1975 to 2010. He then spent six years as a detective in Edwardsville.
In a court filing this week, Golubski’s lawyer, Chris Joseph, said the FBI’s nearly four-year investigation led to “voluminous” discovery. For the sexual abuse case alone, he said the trial will likely include testimony from “dozens of witnesses.”
At a hearing Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Hunting floated setting trial dates for the spring. But he said at this point, without knowing more about the amount of evidence that will be included, it’s hard to know how long the trials would last.
Defense attorneys for Golubski and his co-defendants in the sex trafficking case — Cecil Brooks, LeMark Roberson and Richard Robinson — called setting a trial date premature. They are still collecting and reviewing evidence.
The four have pleaded not guilty. Brooks remains the only defendant in federal custody, as the others have been granted pre-trial release. He appeared at the hearing in a yellow jumpsuit and handcuffs.
The trafficking and sexual abuse cases will be tried separately, Hunting also told the judge Wednesday.
This story was originally published September 20, 2023 at 11:19 AM.
