Inmates at California women’s prison sue federal government over sexual abuse
1 year, 4 months ago

Inmates at California women’s prison sue federal government over sexual abuse

Associated Press  

OAKLAND, Calif. — Eight inmates at a San Francisco Bay Area lockup — dubbed the “rape club” by prisoners and workers alike — filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the federal Bureau of Prisons, saying sexual abuse and exploitation has not stopped despite the prosecution of the former warden and several former officers. Montes said a sexual abuse culture persists at the low-security facility and inmates who report violations continue to face retaliation, including being put in solitary confinement and having all their belongings confiscated. “We went to visit the prison yesterday and we heard additional stories of recent sexual abuse within this last week,” Montes said. “The BOP has tried to address individual officers and is trying to make it seem like it’s an issue of bad actors or bad apples, but it’s really a systemic issue.” A former inmate at the federal facility said she was sexually abused by an officer who manipulated her with promises that he could get her compassionate release.

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History of this topic

A Trans Woman Was Moved Back To A Men's Prison. Now She's Suing.
3 weeks, 1 day ago

A Trans Woman Was Moved Back To A Men's Prison. Now She's Suing.

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING The first transgender woman to be removed from women’s housing in a Washington state prison filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, alleging that the state Department of Corrections’ decision to forcibly place her in a men’s prison violated the state constitution’s prohibition on cruel punishment. courtesy of friend of Amber Kim A team of prison officials, required to …

U.S. to pay $116M settlement over rampant sexual abuse at Calif. women's prison
3 weeks, 2 days ago

U.S. to pay $116M settlement over rampant sexual abuse at Calif. women's prison

NPR  

U.S. to pay $116M settlement over rampant sexual abuse at Calif. women's prison toggle caption Jeff Chiu/AP NEW YORK — The U.S. government will pay nearly $116 million to resolve lawsuits brought by more than 100 women who say they were abused or mistreated at a now-shuttered federal prison in California that was known as the "rape club" because of …

Bureau of Prisons agrees to court monitor, public acknowledgement of staff-on-inmate sexual abuse
1 month ago

Bureau of Prisons agrees to court monitor, public acknowledgement of staff-on-inmate sexual abuse

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — A legal settlement in the wake of rampant staff-on-inmate sexual abuse will force the federal Bureau of Prisons to open its doors to a court-appointed monitor and publicly acknowledge pervasive misconduct at its now-shuttered women’s prison in California. The Bureau of Prisons and lawyers for women suing over abuse at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, filed …

‘No one interfered’: Sex abuse in L.A. County juvenile halls in spotlight at Senate hearing
3 months, 2 weeks ago

‘No one interfered’: Sex abuse in L.A. County juvenile halls in spotlight at Senate hearing

LA Times  

Testifying Wednesday before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee, Breane Wingfield said she was 14 when, in 2005, she was sexually assaulted in a van by a deputy probation officer employed at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey. “I did what I needed to do to survive.” Wingfield’s testimony came during a hearing titled “Sexual assault in U.S. prisons two decades after …

Wife of California inmate wins $5.6 million in settlement for strip search
3 months, 4 weeks ago

Wife of California inmate wins $5.6 million in settlement for strip search

Associated Press  

The wife of a California inmate will receive $5.6 million after being sexually violated during a strip search when she tried to visit her husband in prison, her attorneys said Monday. After traveling four hours to see her husband at a correctional facility in Tehachapi, Calif. on Sept. 6, 2019, Christina Cardenas was subject to a strip search by prison …

The Justice Department is investigating sexual abuse allegations at California women’s prisons
4 months ago

The Justice Department is investigating sexual abuse allegations at California women’s prisons

Associated Press  

SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday that it has opened an investigation into allegations that correctional officers systematically sexually abused incarcerated women at two state-run California prisons. Authorities found “significant justification” to open an investigation into the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla and the California Institution for Women in Chino, the DOJ said in a …

Widespread sexual abuse of women in two California prisons draws federal investigation
4 months ago

Widespread sexual abuse of women in two California prisons draws federal investigation

LA Times  

Protesters hold signs and shout into bullhorns in front of the California Institution For Women in Chino on April 14. Federal prosecutors on Wednesday announced a civil rights investigation into sexual abuse of women behind bars in two California prisons, citing numerous reports of groping, inappropriate touching and rape by correctional workers. The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether the …

Legal advocates seek public access to court records about abuse at California women's prison
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Legal advocates seek public access to court records about abuse at California women's prison

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Two advocacy groups on Wednesday …

Women at California prison dubbed the ‘rape club’ now worry where they’ll be transferred
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Women at California prison dubbed the ‘rape club’ now worry where they’ll be transferred

LA Times  

Prison officials announced plans to transfer people out of the women’s federal prison in Dublin, Calif., following a sex abuse scandal and years of other problems. “That is all the information I have at this time.” Federal officials in Washington announced the news publicly, saying “FCI Dublin is not meeting expected standards and that the best course of action is …

Bureau of Prisons to close California women’s prison where inmates have been subjected to sex abuse
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Bureau of Prisons to close California women’s prison where inmates have been subjected to sex abuse

Associated Press  

LOS ANGELES — The beleaguered federal Bureau of Prisons said Monday it will close a women’s prison in California known as the “rape club” despite attempts to reform the troubled facility after an Associated Press investigation exposed rampant staff-on-inmate sexual abuse. Bureau of Prisons Director Colette Peters said in a statement to the AP that the agency had “taken unprecedented …

California women’s prison rocked by ‘rape club’ abuse scandals to be closed
8 months, 3 weeks ago

California women’s prison rocked by ‘rape club’ abuse scandals to be closed

LA Times  

After a series of lawsuits and sexual abuse convictions of prison officials, the Federal Bureau of Prisons has announced plans to close the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, Calif. A women’s prison in California so plagued by sexual abuse that it was known among inmates and workers as the “rape club” will be closed, the head of the Federal Bureau …

Warden is ousted as FBI raids California women’s prison known as the ‘rape club’
9 months, 4 weeks ago

Warden is ousted as FBI raids California women’s prison known as the ‘rape club’

LA Times  

FBI agents raided a federal women’s prison in California this week so plagued by sexual abuse that it was known among inmates and workers as the “rape club.” The action coincided with the ouster of the new warden from the federal correctional institution in Dublin. In March 2023, the judge referred to the prison’s “culture of sexual abuse” in sentencing …

‘Every woman’s worst nightmare’: Lawsuit alleges widespread sexual abuse at California prisons for women
11 months, 3 weeks ago

‘Every woman’s worst nightmare’: Lawsuit alleges widespread sexual abuse at California prisons for women

LA Times  

Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of sexual abuse. Correctional officers at the California Institution for Women in Chino and Central California Women’s Facility committed widespread sexual abuse against the female detainees whom they guarded, according to a lawsuit filed last month. “Every woman’s worst nightmare is being locked inside a facility filled with sexual predators with no means of …

Former corrections officer convicted of sexually abusing two inmates at California prison
1 year, 7 months ago

Former corrections officer convicted of sexually abusing two inmates at California prison

LA Times  

A former San Francisco Bay Area corrections officer at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin was convicted Monday of sexually abusing two female inmates at the prison, the U.S. Department of Justice said. John Bellhouse, 40, of Pleasanton, Calif., is one of six FCI Dublin staff members to be arrested in connection with sexual abuse at the prison, four of …

Ex-corrections officer accused of raping 13 inmates at California women’s prison
1 year, 7 months ago

Ex-corrections officer accused of raping 13 inmates at California women’s prison

LA Times  

A retired California women’s prison guard was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of raping more than a dozen inmates at the facility where he worked, authorities said. A 27-year veteran correctional officer, Rodriguez worked from 2010 to 2022 at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, the largest women’s prison in the state. Photo provided by the Madera County Sheriff’s Office …

Ex-corrections officer latest charged in sex abuse scandal at California women’s prison
1 year, 7 months ago

Ex-corrections officer latest charged in sex abuse scandal at California women’s prison

LA Times  

A sixth employee of Federal Correctional Institution Dublin in Northern California has been arrested on charges of sexual abuse at the prison. A former correctional officer at a troubled federal women’s prison in California was arrested Friday in Florida and charged with sexually abusing three inmates, according to federal prosecutors. Smith is the sixth employee of the facility to be …

Former warden at women’s prison known as ‘rape club’ gets 70 months for sexual abuse
1 year, 9 months ago

Former warden at women’s prison known as ‘rape club’ gets 70 months for sexual abuse

LA Times  

Ray J. Garcia, former warden of an abuse-plagued federal women’s prison in Dublin, Calif., was found guilty of molesting inmates and forcing them to pose naked. The former warden of a federal women’s prison in California so plagued by sexual abuse it was known as the “rape club” was sentenced Wednesday to nearly six years in prison for sexually abusing …

Former warden at female prison known as ‘rape club’ guilty of sexually abusing women behind bars
2 years, 1 month ago

Former warden at female prison known as ‘rape club’ guilty of sexually abusing women behind bars

LA Times  

Ray J. Garcia leaves the federal courthouse in Oakland on Nov. 28. Garcia, the former warden of an abuse-plagued federal women’s prison, was found guilty of eight counts of sexually abusing women behind bars. The former warden of a federal women’s prison in California so plagued by sexual abuse it was known as the “rape club” was found guilty Thursday …

Ex-warden of California federal women’s prison goes on trial for inmate abuse charges
2 years, 1 month ago

Ex-warden of California federal women’s prison goes on trial for inmate abuse charges

LA Times  

Ray J. Garcia is among five workers charged with abusing inmates at the federal correctional institution in Dublin, Calif., known by prisoners and workers as the “rape club.” The former warden of an abuse-plagued federal women’s prison known as the “rape club” went on trial Monday, accused of molesting inmates and forcing them to pose naked in their cells. Opening …

Corrections officer is 5th person charged in growing sex abuse scandal at federal female prison
2 years, 9 months ago

Corrections officer is 5th person charged in growing sex abuse scandal at federal female prison

LA Times  

The federal women’s prison in Dublin, where a correctional officer became the fifth staff member charged in a still-unfolding sexual abuse scandal. A correctional officer became the fifth staff member charged in a still-unfolding sexual abuse scandal at a federal women’s prison in the East Bay, authorities said. “Sexually abusing inmates is a betrayal of that responsibility and undermines a …

AP investigation: Women’s prison fostered culture of abuse
2 years, 11 months ago

AP investigation: Women’s prison fostered culture of abuse

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Inside one of the only federal women’s prisons in the United States, inmates say they have been subjected to rampant sexual abuse by correctional officers and even the warden, and were often threatened or punished when they tried to speak up. Prisoners and workers at the federal correctional institution in Dublin, California, even have a name for it: …

AP investigation: Women’s prison fostered culture of abuse
2 years, 11 months ago

AP investigation: Women’s prison fostered culture of abuse

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Inside one of the only federal women’s prisons in the United States, inmates say they have been subjected to rampant sexual abuse by correctional officers and even the warden, and were often threatened or punished when they tried to speak up. Prisoners and workers at the federal correctional institution in Dublin, California, even have a name for it: …

Federal women’s prison in California fostered culture of abuse, inmates say
2 years, 11 months ago

Federal women’s prison in California fostered culture of abuse, inmates say

LA Times  

The Federal Correctional Institution is shown in Dublin, Calif., in 2006. Prisoners and workers at the federal correctional institution in Dublin, Calif., have a name for it: “The rape club.” An Associated Press investigation has found a permissive and toxic culture at the Bay Area lockup, enabling years of sexual misconduct by predatory employees and cover-ups that have largely kept …

Transgender woman sues after San Diego jail cell beating
3 years, 1 month ago

Transgender woman sues after San Diego jail cell beating

Associated Press  

SAN DIEGO — A transgender woman is suing the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department after she was placed in a jail cell with three men and beaten so badly that her jaw was broken, according to the lawsuit. Kristina Frost was “viciously attacked” by one man who punched her repeatedly in the face in the attack last November at the …

US prison warden in California accused of inmate sex abuse
3 years, 3 months ago

US prison warden in California accused of inmate sex abuse

Associated Press  

DUBLIN, Calif. — The warden of a federal prison in California has been charged with sexually abusing an inmate, authorities said Wednesday. Ray J. Garcia, 54, of Merced, allegedly groped at least one of his female wards, asked at least two inmates to strip naked for him and took and stored photographs of a naked inmate in a cell at …

Warden of female prison where celebs served time charged with sexually abusing inmate
3 years, 3 months ago

Warden of female prison where celebs served time charged with sexually abusing inmate

LA Times  

Exterior of the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, where the warden has been charged with sexually abusing an inmate. The warden of the all-female federal prison in the East Bay where Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin recently served time has been charged with sexually abusing an inmate. Federal prosecutors unsealed charges Wednesday accusing Ray J. Garcia of repeatedly sexually assaulting …

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