What is PREA?
The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) was passed with unanimous support from both parties in Congress in 2003. The Purpose of the act was to "provide for the analysis of the incidents and effects of prison rape in Federal, State and local institutions and to provide information, resources, and recommendations and funding to protect individuals from prison rape." (Prison Rape Elimination Act 2023). In addition to creating a mandate for significant research from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and through the National Institute of Justice, funding through the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the National Institute of Corrections supported major efforts in many state correctional, juvenile detention, community corrections, and jail systems.
Prison Rape Elimination Act - Zero Tolerance Statement
The Fayette County Jail is committed to your safety and the safety of inmates. The inmates have a right to serve their sentence with dignity and to be free from sexual assault, sexual harassment and retaliation. The volunteers, contract staff, facilitators, and officers also have the right to work in this facility free of sexual assault, sexual harassment and retaliation. The Fayette County Jail has zero tolerance regarding sexual assault within its facility. This means we do not tolerate any level of sexual harassment, misconduct or assault in this facility. Every effort will be made to prevent sexual assault and misconduct from occurring. Every allegation will be investigated, every violator punished and every victim offered services.
REPORTING:
If you were previously housed at the Fayette County Jail and need to report an allegation of sexual of sexual abuse/sexual harassment or to report an allegation of sexual abuse/sexual harassment on behalf of an individual who is or was housed at the Fayette County Jail, you may contact the Fayette County Jail at the following numbers. Reports can be made over the phone, in person, in writing, or anonymously if desired.
Jail Administrator: Thyron Mathews: 220 North Industrial PKWY, West Union. IA 52175, Office: (563-422-6067 EXT 251,
Email: [email protected]
PREA Coordinator/Assistant Jail Administrator: Hilery Chensvold: 220 North Industrial PKWY, West Union, IA 52175,
Office: (563)422-6067 EXT 245, Email: [email protected]
INVESTIGATIONS
All Cases of alleged sexual conduct shall be promptly, thoroughly and objectively investigated. Upon substantiation of any allegation of sexual conduct, appropriate disciplinary actions will be taken against the employee, contractor, volunteer, or individuals in the Fayette County Jail. Those actions may include possible criminal prosecution. If the allegation potentially involves criminal behavior, the Fayette County Jail will ensure that allegations of sexual abuse or sexual harassment are referred for investigation to an agency with the legal authority to conduct criminal investigations.
Annual Report:
Since 2012 when the final PREA standards came in to effect, the Fayette County Sheriff's Office has made multiple revisions to policies, procedures, and training in order to comply with the Federal standards enacted to guide our officers, employees and volunteers with regard to sexual abuse and harassment. Our facility maintains a designated PREA Coordinator, SGT Hilery Chensvold, to ensure compliance within the Fayette County Jail and the Fayette County Sheriff's Office as a whole. It is our initiative to mitigate and eliminate instances of sexual abuse and or sexual harassment. There is a system in place at the Fayette County Sheriff's Office to collect data on incidents of a sexual nature within this facility. The Fayette County Sheriff's Office collects accurate, uniform data for every allegation of sexual abuse under its direct control using every available means through law enforcement. Through this, the Fayette County Sheriff's Office compiles an annual report based on the data collected through investigations of incidents. Please click the link below to view the Fayette County Sheriff's Office current annual report (2024) based on the above mentioned data.