Dayton Daily News from Dayton, Ohio • 5

DAYTON DAILY NEWS I TUESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2007 AS Prison OmiVc rape survey stuns irirMr rMmr-i-rw JJI a a UN CllUI Allegations of sexual violence in state or federal prisons in 2006 Unsubstantiated means the evidence wasn't sufficient to show the alleged incident occurred. Unfounded means officials determined that the alleged incident never occurred. INMATE-ON-INMATE Prisoners In custody on June 30, 2006 State Allegations Substantiated Unsubstantiated Unfounded Investigation ongoing 112 3 13 Texas 140,166 297 Florida 82,223 145 California 169,561 1 76 Georgia 46,359 53 i Illinois 45,440 I 38 i New York 63,479 I 34 Michigan 50,701 I 33 i 4 1 5 136 140 41 II 2 4 1 10 30 22 23 STAFF-ON-INMATE Allegations Substantiated Unsubstantiated Unfounded" 79 10 28 10 31 152 0 131 10 11 52 11 15 14 Prisoners in custody on June 30, 2006 State 140,166 82,223 169,561 Georgia 46,359 Illinois 45,440 New York 63,479 Michigan 50,701 Source: U.S. Department of Justice Texas Florida California 133 6 26 0 101 23 11 9 0 3 I 209 19 119 0 71 1 27 I 2 8 16 1 STAFF GRAPHIC Local headlines Storms leave 1,200 customers in the dark Monday's thunderstorms throughout the Miami Valley dropped Vh inches of rain at Dayton International Airport as of 9 p.m., the National Weather Service in Wilmington reported. Forecasters said they expected another inch or so in some spots overnight.

Dayton Power Light reported 1,200 customers in Montgomery County were without power as of 9:30 p.m. In all, since the rains began about 3:30 p.m., 7,000 customers lost power at one time or another. Most had their power quickly restored, utility spokesman Kyle King said. For today, there is a chance of scattered showers in the Dayton area, meteorologist Myron Padgett said. Piqua commission on its way to raise water, sewer rates PIQUA Faced with more than $20 million in needed water and sewer projects, the City Commission on Monday started the process of raising water and sewer rates.

The commission accepted the first reading of City Manager Fred Enderle's proposal that water rates would go up 10 percent for the rest of the year and 7 percent in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Money from the increases would fund a $6.4 million overhaul of the city's circa-1923 water treatment plant. The last major overhaul of the plant was 50 years ago. The project would begin in 2009. Enderle also proposed that sewer rates jump 10 percent this year, 10 percent in 2008, and 9 percent in 2009 and 2010.

That money would go toward a $6 million sanitary overflow system to be built in 2008. Twin Valley leaders asked to speed air quality reports WEST ALEXANDRIA, Montgomery County Several speakers at Monday night's Twin Valley school board meeting asked school leaders to move faster to address concerns about air quality and student reading materials. Candace Sidle said reports were overdue from two consultants studying problems including roof leaks, odors and poor ventilation that some parents say have caused coughing, headaches, nose bleeds and other health problems for children. Board President Tim Beneke said the reports might be ready in Vl HU a Bureau of Justice Statistics reports 89 accusations of staff misconduct in Ohio prisons in 2006. ByTomBeyerlein Staff Writer The director of Ohio's prison system has asked his staff for more information after being surprised by the number of staff-on-inmate sexual misconduct allegations that showed up on a federal survey released last week.

Director Terry Collins of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction said Monday "it jumped out at me" when the Bureau of Justice Statistics reported there were 89 accusations of staff misconduct in Ohio prisons in 2006. Only four of these cases were substantiated, with 78 deemed unsubstantiated and six unfounded. Another case was still under investigation. The Ohio system also had 67 reported cases of inmate-on-inmate "nonconsensual sexual acts" 16 of which were substantiated. There were almost 45,000 inmates in Ohio in mid-2006.

Today, that number is roughly 49,000. The survey covers U.S. institutions housing 1.8 million prisoners, or 81 percent of all inmates in adult facilities in 2006. The information in the survey came from the state prison systems. The bureau said "caution is necessary for accurate interpretation of the survey results" because the states don't all use the same definitions in reporting sex crimes.

Experts on prison rape said the number of reported allegations is less significant than the numbers of cases that the states determine are "unsubstantiated" or "unfounded." Under the bureau's definition, unfounded means officials determined that the alleged incident never occurred. Unsubstantiated means no evidence was presented to verify if the alleged incident occurred. The National Prison Rape Elimination Commission, created by a 2003 act of Congress, expressed concern about the high percentage of unsubstantiated and unfounded cases in many states, saying it may indicate prison officials aren't taking accusations seriously. "I think that is the big story of this report," said Commissioner Brenda Smith of Washington, D.C. Those numbers show there is "still some serious problems with investigating these cases and really getting to Survey results Key findings of the Bureau of Justice Statistics report on sexual violence in U.S.

prisons in 2006: This study, based only on administrative prison records of reported cases, shows there were 2.9 allegations per 1,000 inmates. But early test results of a larger-scale study by the bureau, which includes anonymous inmate surveys, indicated 4.4 percent of inmates had been sexually abused in the past year. Victims of both inmates and staff were generally younger than perpetrators. Most Inmate-on-inmate assaults involved force or threats and occurred in the evening in the victim's cell. Both black and white inmate perpetrators overwhelmingly preyed on white inmates.

Substantiated cases of inmate sexual violence typically were reported by victims and other inmates, not by corrections officers or staff. Inmates also reported more than half of substantiated abuse by staff. In 57 percent of staff misconduct and harassment cases, the sexual relationship "appeared to be willing," although even consensual sexual contact between prison staff and Inmates is illegal. In state and federal prisons, 58 percent of staff abusers were female and 65 percent of inmate victims were male. In local jails, 80 percent of inmate victims were female and 79 percent of staff abusers were male.

More than three-fourths of inmate victims of staff received no medical follow up. Three-fourths of staff perpetrators lost their jobs, and more than half were arrested or referred for criminal prosecution. 18 percent of staff abuse cases involved more than one victim. The Montgomery County Jail had one allegation of inmate sexual violence, which was substantiated, and no reports of staff-on-inmate abuse. The Greene County Jail had no reported inmate rape and one, substantiated, case of staff sexual misconduct.

Warren County had one inmate case, ruled unfounded, and one staff case, ruled substantiated. SOURCE: Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice Police headlines Dump truck driver killed in crash BROOKVILLE-A Dayton man was killed Monday after the dump truck he was driving was hit by a car before the truck hit a tree at Brookville-Phillipsburg Pike at Pleasant Plain Road. Mitchell E. Johnson, 53, of the 6500 block of Frederick Pike, was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:47 a.m., according to a Montgomery County coroner's official, who said the cause of death had not been established.

The crash occurred when a 2000 BuickLeSabre westbound on Pleasant Plain pulled from a stop sign and into the path of the 1996 International truck, the Ohio Highway Patrol said. The truck, southbound on Brookville-Phillipsburg, was loaded with gravel. Johnson was not wearing a seat belt. "The dump truck went off the left side of the road, rolled onto its side and struck a tree," patrol Lt. Doug Eck said.

Woman severely burned after dropping cigarette DAYTON -A 76-year-old woman was burned over 80 percent of her body Sunday when she accidentally dropped a cigarette on her clothing, a fire official said Monday. The woman, whose name was not released, was alone at her home in the 4300 block of Merrydale Avenue about 6 p.m. when the fire started, Dayton Assistant Fire Chief Herbert Redden said. She was able to call for help and told fire crews her cigarette ignited her clothing when she tried to pick up an object she dropped on the floor. She suffered first-, second-and third-degree burns and was taken to Miami Valley Hospital, where she reportedly was in critical condition, Redden said.

Former mortgage broker gets three years probation DAYTON A former mortgage broker convicted of money laundering was put on three years probation Monday in federal court. Jessica Murray, 36, of Centerville, who pleaded guilty in May 2006, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Walter H. Rice to complete 100 hours of community service. She was president of Montgomery Mortgage Corporation in Centerville and Tri-County Mortgage in Bea-vercreek.

In March 2004, a man sold her a house. They agreed that he would supply the funds for the down payment, but they would fraudulently represent to the lender that Murray supplied the money, according to the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. When she pleaded guilty, Rice ordered her to sell her $450,000 home at 9731 Tib-bals Court. She also agreed to surrender her mortgage-related licenses in Ohio and Indiana, the IRS said.

Woman charged in brother's shooting DAYTON A woman is charged with felonious assault after police said she shot her brother Sunday at a house at 1526 Hochwalt Ave. Diane Henderson-Mathis, 40, is in the Montgomery County Jail. Police called to the address arrested her there about 11 p.m., Sgt. Chris Williams said. Detectives believe she shot Garry Henderson, 37, in the chest and abdomen.

His condition was unknown. 45 1 17 1 0 0 0 36 4 11 0 Investigation ongoing It's difficult to substantiate allegations of wrongdoing by inmates or staff because there often are no witnesses and sometimes accusers recant, Collins said. But Smith said her commission's standards will help the states deal more effectively with the long-standing problem of sex abuse in prison. "Arrest, incarceration, being jailed that is the punishment," she said. "Being victimized shouldn't be part of the prison experience.

Us not doing anything about it reflects poorly on us as a nation. And we can do something about it." Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2264 or tbeyerleinDaytonDaily News.com. Ophelia Hoff Saytumah (left), mayor of Monrovia, Liberia, Dayton's sister city, visited with Dayton Mayor Rhine McLin during a fact-finding trip to Dayton. Submitted photo hope. "I head home knowing that many people in our sister city of Dayton, Ohio, care about Monrovia," Hoff Saytumah said.

"We have friends here that we can count on." Dale Huffman wants your story ideas. He'd like to share a story about you, your family, or a friend that you find touching or humorous. This column is for you. Send e-mail to dhuffmangiDaytonDailyNews. com or write to Dale at 1611 S.

Main St. Dayton, OH 45409. Fax: (937) 225-7334. Phone: (937) 225-2272. if I Sister city mayor enjoys Dayton visit He said the department calls in the Ohio Highway Patrol to help investigate possible criminal offenses, so there's an outside set of eyes on the investigations.

Victims and predators are separated. Collins didn't have a breakdown for staff misconduct cases. But he said Chillicothe Correctional Institution had the most allegations of sexual assaults by inmates in 2006, with 15, followed by Madison Correctional, with 11. Lebanon Correctional had four allegations and Warren Correctional near Lebanon had three. Dayton Correctional, which single-cells its inmates and by state law can't be overcrowded, had no allegations.

the war," she said. "There are so many people who still need help to survive. We are trying to address problems every day." As the two mayors compared notes, both realized they have compelling daily schedules and obligations. "As mayor in a city that has so many challenges, I don't have much time for myself," Hoff Saytumah said. "I don't complain because it is part of my job.

But I tell you that any hour, day or night, I can get a knock on my door, or someone can stop me in the street, or call me with a problem. As the mayor I do everything in my power to help them." McLin sympathized. "I understand, and I agree that when you are a public servant the demands for your time and your efforts never seem to cease. I too get many calls, day and night, and just like you I do the best I can to be of service." Hoff Saytumah said meetings at Central State University, with RTA officials in Dayton, and members of the medical community, along with many others, have given her the bottom of what's going on." Smith said more cameras and better investigative techniques would help. The commission is working on national standards for dealing with prison sex abuse.

Smith said a draft should be ready by mid-2008. Smith praised Ohio for its efforts in recent years to improve the reporting of sex offenses. Collins said the state has established training for staff and inmates on reporting abuse and a special hotline for purported victims. A staff person is assigned as a "victim coordinator" to accusers "we treat them as if they were a victim, just like victims on the street." new hat home and wear it from time to time in hopes that it brings me good fortune." While in Dayton, Hoff Saytumah met with city leaders, members of the business community and representatives of the chamber of commerce. She also met engineers, doctors and educators.

"I picked up a good deal of information that will help me in my leadership role in Monrovia," she said. "We need all the advice and help we can get. We continue to rebuild our city's infrastructure, the water system, our homes, schools and businesses. We still have so much to do." Monrovia was damaged after a coup in the 1980s toppled the city government. A civil war followed, she said, damaging many buildings and destroying much of the infrastructure.

As one of the results of the civil war, she said, many children need help, attention and an education. Monrovia, the capital city, had a population of 572,000 according to a 2003 census. "We estimate that at least a million have settled in the city from outlying areas, since DALE HUFFMAN COMMENTARY Ophelia the mayor of the city of Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa, said her visit to Dayton was "very fast-moving, informative and fulfilling." Hoff Saytumah returned to Monrovia, one of Dayton's sister cities, on Sunday, after a fact-finding week here as the guest of Dayton Mayor Rhine McLin and the city commission. On Saturday the visiting mayor noticed McLin often wears a hat, a kind of personal trademark. So when McLin gave her a tour of the Mountain Days Festival at Eastwood Park on Saturday, the visiting mayor spotted a vendor selling hats, purchasing a white straw hat similar to the bright red straw hat McLin was wearing.

"We are both making history by being the first female mayors in our cities," Hoff Saytumah said. "I will take my Police blotter A roundup of unusual and noteworthy items from area police departments: 'Most wanted' intoxicated male arrested in street FAIRBORN Aug. 11: Police responded to the 200 block of North Second Street after an intoxicated male was reported in the area. The subject was sitting in the middle of the street. Officers cuffed him while they assessed the situation.

He acknowledged he'd been drinking and gave them his Social Security number, then stated, "I'm the one you guys are looking for. I was on TV. I was on Miami Valley's Most Wanted." He was arrested on Fair-born arid Xenia warrants. Compiled by Angela Watson Gay. Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2374 or anwatsongiDaytonDaily News.com..