Sexual-misconduct complaints in Washington prisons have more than quadrupled in a decade. Prison officials say they take the issue seriously but that few cases can be substantiated. Critics contend that even guards who are convicted have gotten off with light sentences.
The investigation began with an anonymous tip: Theresa Nolte, a customer-service worker at the print shop in Monroe Correctional Complex, appeared to have a strange relationship with an inmate named Kelly Beard, a member of the prison’s Aryan gang who was finishing up a 20-year murder sentence. The two spent time together most days, huddled in whispered conversations.