Russell E. Rollison, 31, was charged last week with two counts of sexual conduct with inmates, and Colorado authorities have said they will seek charges against a prison counselor accused of four counts of sexual misconduct.

Two Hawai'i inmates have alleged they were pressured into performing a sex act for a corrections officer at Brush, and two inmates from Colorado and four from Wyoming also have alleged they had sexual contact with prison workers there.

The two Hawai'i inmates are now at the Women's Community Correctional Center in Kailua, prison officials said.

Investigators from the Colorado Department of Corrections concluded the sexual contact between inmates and staff was consentual and sometimes initiated by inmates, but it is a felony for prison workers to have any sexual contact with prisoners.

Court affidavits filed in connection with the latest charges allege that Woller had sexual contact with an inmate Oct. 1, and that Soares provided assistance to him Nov. 22 "with intent to hinder, delay or prevent" authorities from learning what happened or investigating the incident.

Authorities have said Soares reported the inmates' allegations Jan. 11, prompting Colorado prison officials to send a team to Brush to investigate.

If convicted, Woller and Soares could each face prison sentences of one to three years.

Soares, 57, resigned Feb. 18 at the request of GRW Corp., the Tennessee-based company that runs the prison. Colorado officials and GRW President Gil Walker said there is no indication Soares himself was involved in any sexual misconduct involving inmates.

The Advertiser was unable to contact Soares yesterday.

Kat Brady, coordinator of the grassroots prison-reform group Community Alliance on Prisons in Hawai'i, said the charge against Soares is "disheartening."

"We find that really distressing, and it just adds to our concerns about Hawai'i exporting almost one-third of our prison population to the continent," Brady said.

She said Soares had a good reputation among the inmates. Brady said one of the two Hawai'i women who allegedly were pressured for sexual favors told her that the warden came to her cell and apologized for what happened.

Soares is a well-respected 29-year veteran of the Colorado Department of Corrections who worked his way up from corrections officer to warden, said department spokeswoman Alison Morgan. By the time he retired from the department in 2003, he had served as warden of the 1,000-bed Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility, the 1,000-bed Limon Correctional Facility, and the 2,445-bed Sterling Correctional Facility, Morgan said.

GRW's Walker said the Brush prison is safe, and that inmates comment it compares favorably to other places where they have been housed.

"It's very unfortunate that this incident occurred, but in this business it occurs in everybody's facilities where there are females," he said.

While investigating the sexual misconduct claims, authorities found evidence that cigarettes were being smuggled into the facility, despite a smoking ban in all Colorado prisons. Nine inmates were charged with introducing contraband or conspiracy to introduce contraband.

Rick Bissen, interim director of the Hawai'i Department of Public Safety, said there are no plans to move Hawai'i prisoners out of Brush. "Based on what we know, we still think the facility is safe and secure for our inmates," Bissen said through a spokesman.

The Brush prison for women outside of Denver has 250 beds and houses 73 Colorado inmates and 40 Wyoming inmates along with 80 Hawai'i prisoners.

Approximately 1,600 male and female inmates from Hawai'i are being held in privately operated prisons in Oklahoma, Mississippi, Arizona and Colorado because there is no room for them in state-run prisons.