TOPEKA, KAN. (AP) — A former Kansas prison dental instructor convicted of molesting a female inmate has been sentenced to 32 months in prison.
Shawnee County District Judge Cheryl Rios on Friday agreed to release Thomas Co on $50,000 bond pending appeal. He will have to register as a sex offender for 25 years.
Prosecutors had alleged that Co molested six inmates at the Topeka Correctional Facility between 2011 and 2018 but he was found guilty on only one count. The conviction involved a woman whose complaints in January 2017 prompted an internal investigation that concluded Co should be fired.
An investigation by the Capital-Journal revealed at least nine women in the dental lab complained for five years about sexual harassment and unwanted physical contact from Co.
Co’s daughter, Christine Co, attended the court hearing and said the accusations were false and the family would fight to clear her father's name.