Roger Golubski, the former Kansas City, Kansas, Police detective accused of decades of corruption, has been hospitalized.
Golubski was temporarily released from his electronic monitoring device on Tuesday, so he can “obtain immediate medical treatment while hospitalized,” according to an emergency order signed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Rachel E. Schwartz, the same judge who placed him on home arrest after he was indicted.
During his first court appearance in September 2022, Golubski’s attorney said he was already very ill, having had heart bypass surgery in April 2022. He also takes four insulin shots a day for his diabetes and his kidneys are failing, his attorney said.
Golubski faces federal charges of sexual assault, kidnapping and protecting a notorious KCK drug dealer who was running a sex trafficking operation using underage girls. He pleaded not guilty.
Golubski’s attorneys have argued that there is nothing to corroborate the allegations — no photos or video — except the word of several victims talking about a time long in the past.
But his victims say Golubski ruled the north end of the city for decades, placing innocent Black men in prison and assaulting vulnerable Black women. He was protected by the department’s brass because they were profiting from corruption, too, former police officials say.
Golubski’s alleged behavior came to light during the 2017 exoneration of Lamonte McIntyre, who says he was framed by Golubski and a former Wyandotte County prosecutor for a 1994 double homicide he didn’t commit. The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, settled a civil suit with McIntyre and his mother for $12.5 million in June 2022.
During the last year, Golubski has appeared at several federal court hearings, always wearing a suit and a medical mask that falls beneath his nose. He shuffles into and out of the courthouse in Topeka with his attorney, Chris Joseph, ignoring reporters and the victims who always show up at the hearings.
No trial date has been set yet, and Joseph has said several times that there is so much evidence in the case that they have not yet had time to review it all.
Golubski's victims have long feared that he will never face trial, given the delays and his poor health.
An email sent to Joseph on Wednesday seeking confirmation on Golubski’s hospitalization and comment was not returned.
An email seeking comment from the U.S. Attorney's office was also not returned.
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