SOUTH BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Department of Correction is taking a closer look at sexual safety inside its prisons at the request of Governor Brad Little, following allegations from a former inmate who says she endured years of sexual abuse by correctional officers.
Andrea Weiskircher, who spent 20 years incarcerated in Idaho, told Idaho News 6 that abuse became so common she no longer recognized how wrong it was.
“I came to prison when I was 19. I'm 43 now. So I've done 20 years… There's a lot of things that go on in the prison that shouldn't happen,” Weiskircher said.
WATCH: How one woman’s claims pushed IDOC to re-examine its policies on sexual misconduct
Weiskircher wrote multiple letters to Idaho News 6 detailing her allegations, prompting renewed attention on how sexual misconduct reports are handled behind bars. This week, she returned to the prison complex for the first time since her release to attend an IDOC Board of Correction meeting on sexual safety.
“I think that I got exposed to a lot of very disturbing sexual activity inside the prison and it became like a normal mindset for me because I'd been there for so long,” she said.
In 2024, Weiskircher filed Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) reports, submitting what she describes as evidence. She said her case was marked “unfounded,” but after months of speaking out, IDOC has agreed to re-examine it.
During the board meeting – where phones and cameras were not allowed – IDOC officials outlined the department’s reporting system, which includes hotline numbers, intake screenings and mandatory PREA evaluations.
Weiskircher said the policies are not the issue. “They talked about their policy again that they don't enforce,” she said, adding that retaliation and fear often prevent people from reporting abuse.
Department officials also acknowledged a gap in Idaho law. The current statute defining “sexual contact” only includes intercourse or genital contact – excluding other unwanted intimate acts such as groping or kissing. IDOC Direct Bree Derrick noted in the meeting, “I would think there are people who are already interested in taking this issue up and kind of closing the gap that exists there.”
According to data presented during the meeting, IDOC recorded 188 sexual-misconduct allegations in 2023 – 101 classified as sexual harassment and 87 as sexual abuse. IDOC says only 13 staff-on-resident allegations were reported, and none were substantiated.
Weiskircher said what she heard in the meeting didn’t reflect her experience. “It made me angry. They talked about their policy again that they don't enforce… the data they just showed the board of directors was false,” she said. She believes her reports, and others she witnessed, were not captured in the numbers presented.
For her, returning to IDOC was about ensuring that future reports are taken seriously. “I'm not going to stop until it gets fixed,” she said.
IDOC says it is working with lawmakers to expand the state’s definition of sexual contact and will continue internal reviews along with required federal PREA audits.
