Kendall County Sheriff's Office Passes Prison Rape Elimination Audit

The Kendall County Sheriff’s Office has passed a Prison Rape Elimination Act audit, according to a release from the office.

The PREA audit shows the federal government that the office has taken action to conform to federal standards that were put in place to eliminate sex abuse in a confinement setting. This is a new requirement for detention facilities. The audit was conducted July 29 and 30.

The Kendall County Jail had 41 findings of meeting expectations, one finding of exceeding expectations, and one finding that was not applicable because the office does not house inmates in other correctional facilities. The auditor’s report noted “The Kendall County Sheriff’s Department has demonstrated a high commitment to inmate and staff safety.”

Some of the requirements of PREA are as follows:

• Adherence to a zero-tolerance standard for the incidence of inmate sexual assault and rape
• Development of standards for detection, prevention, reduction and punishment of prison rap
• Collection and dissemination of information on the incidence of prison rape.

Preparation for the audit was lead by Correction’s Sergeant Jeanne Russo, who is the office’s PREA coordinator. It took Russo and other corrections’ deputies over a year to prepare for the audit. The audit consisted of a review of policy and procedure, a tour of jail, interviews of staff, deputies, inmates and command personnel, and review of reports and records. Russo is a 15 year veteran of the sheriff’s office who earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration.

“Sergeant Russo’s leadership and hard work kept the office on track and committed to the goal,” said Kendall County Sheriff Dwight Baird.

The Kendall County Jail is a state of the art correctional facility built in 1992 and expanded in 2005. Home to 50 correction’s staff members and encompassing 70,000 square feet, it has a maximum capacity of 203 inmates. The Kendall County Jail not only houses inmates from Kendall County, it receives compensation for housing inmates from Kane, DeKalb, DuPage and federal inmates.