Roanoke County Sheriff's Office PREA

1. Zero Tolerance Policy

The Roanoke County Sheriff's Office fully supports the guidelines set forth in this law and has Zero-Tolerance for any and all incidents of sexual abuse and sexual harassment in accordance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003.

In order to promote a safe and humane setting for the confinement of pre-trial detainees as well as convicted offenders, The Roanoke County Sheriff's Offices maintains a "zero tolerance policy" regarding the sexual abuse of inmates, staff-on-inmate sexual misconduct, and inmate-on-inmate sexual misconduct. 

Governing Code

The Sheriff's Office maintains a program of prevention, detection, response, investigation and tracking. Sexual assault among inmates and staff sexual misconduct towards inmates is strictly prohibited and subject to administrative and criminal disciplinary sanctions. All allegations, regardless of source will be investigated. Staff-on-inmate sexual misconduct will be governed by the Code of Virginia Section 18.2-642, which includes contract and volunteer personnel. The appropriate sections of the Code of Virginia will govern inmate-on-inmate sexual abuse based upon the advice of the Commonwealth's Attorney and the investigating police authority.

Sexual Misconduct

Sexual misconduct is illegal and will not be tolerated in any manner. Sexual misconduct includes: 

• Inmate-on-inmate sexual abuse, assault, or consensual sexual activity
• Staff-on-inmate sexual abuse, assault or consensual sexual activity

Sexual misconduct also includes any solicitation of sexual activity. All allegations are fully investigated and substantiated incidents are reported to the local police for further investigation and referral for prosecution if warranted.

Sexual abuse can be reported to any staff member at any time, either verbally or in writing. The staff will take actions to protect inmates from the assailant and refer them to medical for further treatment and counseling.

 Resources for Reporting & Counseling

The following resources are available for reporting and/or counseling for victims of sexual abuse:

• Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN): 800-656-4673
• Sexual Assault Response and Awareness (SARA): 540-981-9352
• Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance: 800-838-8238 

Reporting 

If you wish to report information that an inmate has been the victim of sexual abuse by another inmate, or have information about employee sexual misconduct with regard to an inmate, please contact the following: 

Jail Administrator
Roanoke County/Salem Jail
401 East Main Street
Salem, Virginia 24153

Phone: 540-283-3152

Sexual Abuse or Harassment Reporting

If you wish to report an incident of sexual abuse or sexual harassment to an outside agency, you may write a letter to: Virginia Department of Corrections
P.O. Box 26963
Richmond, VA 23261-6963

Investigations

Investigations are given one of three designations:

• Substantiated - An allegation investigated and determined to have occurred
• Unfounded - An allegation investigated and determined not to have occurred
• Unsubstantiated - An allegation that was investigated and evidence was insufficient to make a determination of substantiated or unfounded 

Helpful Resources

• 2020 PREA Audit
• 2022 PREA Report
• PREA Definitions Page