Okla. gov.’s mansion workers deny rape allegations

OKLAHOMA CITY — The former head chef and head groundskeeper at the Oklahoma governor’s mansion deny allegations that they raped three female prison inmates who work on the mansion grounds, their attorney said Wednesday.

Defense attorney Tim Henderson said the women have falsely accused Russell Humphries, the former executive chef at the mansion, and Anthony Bobelu, the former groundskeeper supervisor, in hopes of suing the state for money. Both men were fired over the allegations but neither has been charged.

“All they’ve got to do is say something happened,” Henderson said. “There is no physical evidence. It’s just, ‘Trust me.’”

Janet Roloff, an attorney for one of the inmates, said her client is not motivated by a desire for money.

“That’s ridiculous,” Roloff said. “Nobody would submit themselves to this over false charges.”

Henderson used a similar argument as part of the defense team for former Custer County Sheriff Mike Burgess, who was convicted in January of rape and other charges involving female inmates and drug court defendants he supervised.

Henderson alleged the accusations against Burgess were fabricated to support a lawsuit filed on behalf of 12 former county jail inmates who alleged sheriff’s employees had them engage in wet T-shirt contests and offered cigarettes to those who would flash their breasts. The lawsuit is pending in U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City.

The Oklahoma Department of Central Services dismissed Humphries and Bobelu on Sept. 29 following a Department of Corrections investigation into allegations they had sexually assaulted female inmates.

An investigation by the Corrections Department’s internal affairs division concluded the men committed sexual battery, forcible sodomy and rape against the Hillside Community Corrections Center inmates, according to agency spokesman Jerry Massie. The investigation has been turned over to Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater’s office.

Henderson said Humphries and Bobelu “lost their jobs on a mere allegation.”

“Both of them deny any wrongdoing,” he said. “These girls that were assigned to work the grounds under Mr. Bobelu, all of them are multi-time convicted felons.”

Henderson said both men initially were suspended, then reinstated to their jobs before the Department of Central Services finally fired them.

“If anybody really believed that happened, would you put them back to work?” Henderson said.

The attorney said neither man has found another job.

“I don’t think anybody is dealing with it well at all,” Henderson said. “An allegation like this can literally change someone’s life. It’s a life-changing event that is devastating.”

The women claim the alleged attacks occurred in a storage building outside the perimeter of the security fence that surrounds the mansion’s 14-acre grounds. The inmates were assigned to maintain the flower beds, shrubs and other greenery at the mansion.

Roloff said her client was raped by one man while the other held her down.

The women, two of whom have since been released from prison, say the assaults happened between March 2008 and January 2009. The Department of Corrections didn’t begin investigating until June 1, after one woman came forward following her release.

Henderson questioned why they waited so long to report the alleged assaults, but Roloff said her client didn’t say anything until after her release for fear of retribution.

The allegations have raised questions about security at the mansion and oversight of the horticulture program, which was suspended after the allegations surfaced but has since resumed.