Women once held in California ‘rape club’ prison reach historic settlement to protect inmates
Inmates at a recently closed, scandal-plagued Bay Area women’s prison dubbed “the rape club” have reached a historic settlement that will increase oversight and protections for about 500 inmates transferred out of that facility and into federal prisons across the U.S.
In August 2023, eight inmates formerly housed at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin filed a class-action lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Prisons on behalf of individuals who were incarcerated at the facility, alleging they were subjected to widespread sexual abuse, medical neglect and retaliation by prison guards.
Now, the Bureau of Prisons has agreed to enter a consent decree to protect the rights of nearly 500 class members who remain incarcerated in more than a dozen federal prisons.
The consent decree requires close monitoring of staff abuse and retaliation, medical care, the application of early release credits and the timely release of inmates to halfway houses. It was submitted to the court Friday morning, and if approved will require court oversight of its implementation for the next two years.
“This settlement is historic. It is the first time in BOP history that monitoring will be enforced by consent decree across over a dozen federal women’s prisons nationwide,” Amaris Montes, an attorney representing class members, said in a statement. “This reflects the lived reality of the class members in this lawsuit: The problems at FCI Dublin were not unique to that facility, and the BOP has failed people in its custody across the country.”
Federal officials are set to close the so-called ‘rape club’ prison in Dublin, where guards and the warden were charged or convicted of sexual abuse.
Under the agreement, class members will no longer be placed in solitary confinement for low-level disciplinary charges and will be guaranteed timely disciplinary proceedings in an effort to prevent retaliatory behavior by prison guards. They will also have confidential means to report abuse and violations of the consent decree.
In addition, the Bureau of Prisons will restore early release credits to FCI Dublin transfers and expunge invalid disciplinary write-ups by Dublin staff to ensure class members don’t lose opportunities for early release.
Colette Peters, the Bureau of Prisons director, will also issue a formal apology to survivors of staff sexual abuse at FCI Dublin, where more than a half-dozen correctional officers and the former warden have been either charged or convicted of sexually abusing the inmates.
In 2022, former prison chaplain James Theodore Highhouse was sentenced to seven years for sexually assaulting a female inmate at FCI Dublin. Prosecutors said Highhouse engaged in predatory conduct with at least six women from 2014 to 2019.
Ray J. Garcia was found guilty of three counts of sex with an incarcerated person, four counts of abusive sexual contact and one count of lying to the FBI.
Last year, former FCI Dublin Warden Ray J. Garcia was sentenced to 70 months in prison for sexually abusing inmates and lying to the FBI to try to cover up bad behavior at the prison.
In March, a federal judge granted an injunction finding that people incarcerated at FCI Dublin faced an ongoing risk of abuse and appointed a special master to oversee the prison, the first such outside monitor in history.
Days later, Peters announced that the agency would be closing the facility. At the time, Peters said it was possible the closure would be temporary.
Almost 500 inmates were then moved to other federal prisons across the country, where class members allege that inhumane conditions continued.
On Thursday, Peters announced that the closure at FCI Dublin will be permanent, citing inadequate staffing and staggering costs to repair aging infrastructure.
The permanent shutdown is the clearest sign yet that the federal Bureau of Prisons is unable or unwilling to rehabilitate its most problematic institutions.
In August, the appointed special master — former Alameda County Chief Probation Officer Wendy Still — released a scathing report decrying the inhumane conditions that persisted at FCI Dublin.
“It is unconscionable that any correctional agency could allow incarcerated individuals under their control and responsibility to be subject to the conditions that existed at FCI Dublin for such an extended period of time without correction,” she wrote.
Still said the conditions were “likely an indication of systemwide issues” at federal women’s prisons across the nation, including facilities to which former Dublin inmates were moved.
“People currently and formerly incarcerated at Dublin have fought long and hard for this victory,” Griselda Muniz, a plaintiff in the case, said in a statement on the settlement. “Now BOP must follow the agreement for the people still in custody. Ultimately, we are praying for their return home, as they deserve to heal from these traumatic events with their loved ones.”
Hours after officials announced the closure of the troubled Federal Correctional Institute in Dublin, a judge paused all transfers of its female inmates.
Attorneys for the class members were pleased with the consent decree, which was the product of months of negotiations among the Bureau of Prisons, current and former inmates, advocates and attorneys. But they emphasized the importance of ensuring it is implemented.
“Without rigorous monitoring and enforcement, this agreement is only words on paper,” attorney Kara Janssen said in a statement. “Class Counsel will be closely watching BOP, going to the institutions, meeting with our class members, and will hold BOP accountable to ensure these changes reach our class members.”
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