This undated photo provided by the Edwardsville Police Department shows...

This undated photo provided by the Edwardsville Police Department shows former Kansas City, Kan, Police detective Roger Golubski. Credit: AP

MISSION, Kan. — A former police detective in Kansas left five suicide letters before fatally shooting himself as he was about to stand trial last month over allegations that he sexually assaulted and terrorized vulnerable Black women for decades, investigators announced Tuesday.

Roger Golubski, who was white, left his house outside of Kansas City, Kansas, for his federal trial around 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 2, but returned home before reaching the courthouse 50 miles (80 kilometers) west in Topeka, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation said in a news release.

The 71-year-old was facing six felony counts of violating women’s civil rights. Prosecutors say he preyed on female residents in poor neighborhoods, demanding sexual favors and sometimes threatening to harm or jail their relatives if they refused.

The allegations outraged the community and deepened its historical distrust of law enforcement. The prosecution followed earlier reports of similar abuse allegations across the country in which hundreds of officers have lost their badges after allegations of sexual assault. _____

EDITOR’S NOTE — In the U.S., the national suicide and crisis lifeline is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org

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