IRMA - Female guards at Wisconsin’s teen prison say inmates regularly expose themselves and make crude sexual remarks, but their bosses don’t consider the problem as pervasive as they do.

In interviews, workers at Lincoln Hills School for Boys said inmates every day yell comments about their bodies, brag about their sexual prowess or say they’re going to rape them. The workers contended the prison’s leaders do little to nothing about it.

John Paquin, who oversees the prison 30 miles north of Wausau, said the Department of Corrections investigates any claim of sexually inappropriate conduct but that such matters do not commonly get reported.

“I’m not aware of any situation that hasn’t been addressed if it’s been brought to our attention,” he told reporters last week during a tour of the facility.

“I’m being told that happens in the public school system, too,” he said of the crude comments.

Asked if he meant that the crass comments occur as frequently in schools around the state as they do at the teen prison, Paquin said he had no way of gauging that.

Asked if inappropriate comments are made daily at Lincoln Hills, Paquin said, “It’s not being reported on a daily basis, I can tell you that.”

Workers have expressed frustration over how their bosses have responded to their concerns. Two of them said Corrections Secretary Jon Litscher told a group of employees he didn't want his visit there to turn into a "bitch session" about safety conditions.

When it comes to sexual comments by inmates, Lincoln Hills workers tell a different story than their bosses do.

“Every day that I would go to work, I would expect sexual harassment and almost think of it as normal,” said April Coey, a contract nurse who worked at Lincoln Hills for six months. “You almost get used to it.”

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Worker concerns about sexual harassment and sexual assault add to the volatile mix of problems at Lincoln Hills. The facility in Irma is the subject of multiple lawsuits by inmates and a criminal investigation. Last week, federal prosecutors notified two former guards they could face criminal charges for the excessive use of force.

A week before Coey left, one of the inmates stared at her and called her "a tender piece of juicy white meat,” she said. The guard supervising the inmate ignored the comment, she said.

Other inmates said they would rape women workers, rape their mothers or hunt women workers down to have sex with them after they got out, she said.

Coey and other workers said when they walk across the prison grounds, inmates yell, “Shake it for me,” talk about their breasts bouncing or make other remarks about their bodies. Often, it is difficult to tell which inmate made which comment because they are in large groups, they said.

"There's no reason a woman should have to be talked to like that," Coey said. "We're bitches and hos to them. We're not females."

Coey said the comments would get discussed in meetings, but supervisors would shrug them off. She did not file written reports on the issue.

Coey is a contract nurse. She stopped being assigned to Lincoln Hills in November, shortly after she sent an email to a supervisor raising concerns that contracted nurses were treated differently from Department of Corrections staff, she said.

Lauren Juhlke, who recently retired after 25 years at the prison, said she and other guards were subjected to sexual comments from inmates every day.

“You can feel your blood pressure going up when you walk by,” she said of passing groups of inmates.

Her bosses downplayed concerns she raised about the issue, she said.

“I’d tell the supervisors and they’d say, what do you want me to do about that?” she said.

Juhlke and others said prison officials had not made any changes in how they deal with concerns raised by women workers since the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published a report last month detailing instances of inmates openly masturbating in front of female employees and taunting them with sexual comments. A Department of Corrections spokesman did not name any specific changes that have been made regarding the issue.

Juhlke attended a forum Litscher held at the prison for employees in October, days after an inmate punched a prison teacher in the face and knocked her out.

Juhlke said she made a plea to Litscher to make the facility safer. He told her he hadn’t come to Lincoln Hills just for a “bitch session,” she said.

Guard Rita Lokemoen also heard him make the comment about a “bitch session,” saying he repeated the phrase later in his talk.

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Lokemoen has dealt with numerous incidents in recent years. Inmates have masturbated in front of her. One inmate grabbed her buttocks. Others taunted her and falsely alleged she was having sex with another worker.

At the forum, she asked Litscher what officers should do when inmates make inappropriate comments. Litscher responded that such issues have been going on for years with women working in correctional facilities, she said.

Department of Corrections spokesman Tristan Cook said Litscher takes the concerns of staff seriously and meets with them frequently. The large majority of those who spoke with him at the Oct. 18 forum “were thankful for the productive conversation and showed a genuine interest in providing suggestions that will enhance their work environment and boost institution safety and security,” Cook said by email.

The Department of Corrections has a zero tolerance policy for sexual harassment, he said. Inmates are disciplined or referred to law enforcement if they act out, he said.

“Staff are encouraged to document any inappropriate behavior by youth in an incident report so institution leadership can take action,” he said in his email. “Facility leaders have been extremely proactive about taking steps to protect employees and identifying how DOC can further protect them.”

Patrick Marley reported for this story in Irma with Ashley Luthern in Milwaukee.