A woman incarcerated at the Wyoming Women’s Center (WWC) in Lusk is suing the prison’s leadership and staff in federal court, alleging they ignored warning signs and allowed a “longstanding pattern of misconduct by male correctional officers” that led to her sexual assault.
Filed in US District Court in August, the suit names former officer Joseph Gaul, Warden Timothy Lang, Deputy Warden Robert Hardy, and five unnamed WWC employees. The plaintiff, Chasity Jacobs, says Gaul assaulted her twice in 2023 while she was working janitorial duty in restricted, poorly supervised areas of the facility.
The complaint says administrators showed “deliberate indifference to the rights and safety of inmates,” failing to fix known problems in hiring, training, reporting and accountability even after multiple guards were prosecuted.
According to the lawsuit, Gaul should never have been hired. Before joining WWC in 2019, he’d been fired from two public-sector jobs in Nebraska for misconduct toward women—first from the state’s health department over inappropriate conduct and comments, then as director of the Scotts Bluff County Detention Center after sending sexually explicit texts to a subordinate. Local reporting noted his dismissal at the time, but the reason wasn’t disclosed publicly.
Wyoming law requires background and reference checks for correctional officers. The suit alleges those requirements were “either ignored or improperly conducted” when WWC brought Gaul on.
Gaul later admitted to inappropriate sexual contact with Jacobs and pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault, receiving a 2–5 year prison sentence.
Jacobs’ attorneys argue Gaul’s assaults fit a pattern. In the last five years, three WWC officers have been convicted of sexually assaulting inmates:
- Kyle Broberg (2020): convicted of sexually abusing an inmate in secluded areas of WWC.
- Kenneth Jensen (2024): a supervisory officer accused of grooming and abusing an inmate he oversaw on a maintenance crew.
- Joseph Gaul (2023): pleaded guilty in Jacobs’ case.
The filing claims the prison often handles allegations internally, delaying or avoiding referral to outside law enforcement, which “undermin[es] accountability” and leaves systemic failures unaddressed.
“The pervasive problem of sexual assault by WWC correctional officers was well known,” the complaint says, naming Warden Lang and Deputy Warden Hardy as having failed to implement safeguards despite repeated incidents.
Jacobs, sentenced in 2020 at age 19, was working in segregated areas of the prison in 2023 when she regularly encountered Gaul without supervision. The suit says Gaul cultivated familiarity, overshared personal details (including about his marriage), and offered special privileges to select inmates.
Editor’s note: sensitive content. The complaint alleges Gaul isolated Jacobs in a chemical closet and raped her, then assaulted her again about a week later in another unsupervised area. Investigators from WDOC Internal Affairs and the state Division of Criminal Investigation opened a formal probe on Aug. 3, 2023.
The suit argues Gaul’s conduct amounts to excessive force and cruel and unusual punishment, violating Jacobs’ constitutional rights—the same rights prison officials are legally bound to protect.
The Wyoming Department of Corrections declined to comment, citing a policy against discussing ongoing litigation.
The lawsuit seeks to hold WWC leadership liable for systemic failures—from flawed hiring to inadequate supervision and reporting—allegedly enabling repeated abuse. It also contends the three known convictions likely understate the true scope of misconduct at the facility.
A court date has not yet been set.
The original story by Maggie Mullen for WyoFile.
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