The Justice Department has determined that the Topeka Correctional Facility fails to protect women prisoners from harm due to sexual abuse and misconduct by the prison staff and other prisoners.

The feds have notified Governor Sam Brownback and Corrections Secretary Ray Roberts of the results of the Civil Rights Division probe that focused on whether prisoners were subjected to sexual abuse in violation of their constitutional rights.

The Justice Department found that KDOC and TCF violate women prisoners’ constitutional rights under the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

“Our investigation has revealed that multiple deficiencies in the operations of the Topeka Correctional Facility have exposed female prisoners to harm and the serious risk of harm from prisoner-on-prisoner and employee-on-prisoner sexual abuse and assault,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.

“It is our strong desire to work with both the facility and the Kansas Department of Corrections to implement reforms to address these repeatedly-documented deficiencies.”