The former warden of a Colorado prison whose staff was accused of sexual misconduct involving Hawai'i women inmates has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor criminal charge in connection with one of the misconduct cases.

Rick Soares resigned as warden of the privately run Brush Correctional Facility in February shortly before Colorado authorities announced they were investigating allegations of sexual misconduct by staff involving eight women inmates from Hawai'i, Colorado and Wyo-ming.

Two corrections officers were later charged with felony sexual conduct in a penal institution in connection with those investigations. Colorado authorities said they could find no evidence the inmates were coerced for sex, but even consensual sexual contact between an inmate and a prison staff member is a felony in Colorado.

Soares, 57, reported to Colorado authorities in January that there had been sexual misconduct allegations at the prison. A team from the Colorado Department of Corrections was sent to investigate.

Soares was later charged as an accessory in one of the two cases for allegedly rendering assistance to Corrections Officer Fredrick Woller "with intent to hinder, delay or prevent" the prosecution of Woller, according to the charge filed against Soares in Colorado's Morgan County District Court.

Robert Watson, district attorney for Colorado's 13th Judicial District, said Soares was allowed to enter a guilty plea to a reduced charge of false reporting, a misdemeanor that carries a penalty of up to six months in jail.

Under the terms of the one-year "deferred judgment" granted to Soares, if he complies with the requirements of the court for a year, his plea will be withdrawn and the charges will be dismissed, clearing his record.

Calls to Soares' home in Sterling, Colo., were not returned yesterday. Frank Lopez, acting director of the state Department of Public Safety, declined comment on the plea.

Woller's case, which involves alleged sexual misconduct with an inmate from Wyoming, has been scheduled for trial on Feb. 5, Watson said.

A second former corrections officer, Russell Rollison, is scheduled to go to trial Jan. 5 on two similar counts. Rollison is accused of sexual misconduct involving two women inmates from Hawai'i.

Both of the Hawai'i inmates were returned to the Women's Community Correctional Center in Kailua. The rest of the Hawai'i women serving sentences at Brush have been moved to the Otter Creek Correctional Center in Wheelwright, Ky.

The Brush prison was operated by a private company called GRW Corp. The Otter Creek prison is operated by the larger Corrections Corporation of America.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.