Feds open investigation into sexual abuse at California women’s prisons

LOS ANGELES (CN) — The U.S. Justice Department announced Wednesday that it has opened a civil rights investigation into purported sexual abuse of inmates by wardens at two California women's prisons.

The department said that publicly available information, including hundreds of lawsuits by women who have been incarcerated at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla and information gathered from stakeholders, justified the investigation into whether the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation protects women from sexual abuse by correctional staff.

In addition to the Central California Women's Facility, which is the largest female prison in California, the Justice Department will also investigate reports of sexual abuse at the California Institution for Women in Chino.

“Concern about the physical safety of people inside California women’s prisons is not new,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California Phillip Talbert said in a statement. “Media coverage, state audits, advocates’ efforts and private litigation have sought to draw attention to an issue often unseen by many in the community. This investigation responds to those concerns and will aim to ensure that California is meeting its constitutional duty to incarcerated individuals.” 

Women at the two prisons face forcible rape, groping and threats of violence and punishment by the men put in charge of them, according to multiple lawsuits. Correctional staff at both facilities reportedly sought sexual favors in return for contraband and privileges, and the purported abusers included the very people for responsible for handling complaints of sexual abuse by prison guards, the Justice Department said.

In December, 144 women sued the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation detailing the sexual violence and misbehavior they endured at the two state prisons. Many of them said they never reported their abusers out of fear for retaliation and because they assumed that their complaints would be unanswered, dismissed, ignored, or buried without investigation.

And according to a March report to the California Legislature, the problem of sexual assault in prison cannot be fully addressed without acknowledging and addressing the culture of retaliation that is so pervasive in the women’s prisons.

"The incarcerated population shared many stories about typical forms of retaliation that everyone knew to expect after filing a PREA [Prison Rape Elimination Act] report — from physical violence, sexually abusive strip and pat searches, and immediate placement in restrictive housing," according to the report by a working group of advocacy organizations that held town hall meetings at the two prisons.

"Victims who file PREA reports know that they face a serious risk of being falsely accused of disciplinary hearings violations, loss of job assignments, interference with their prospects for parole, and involuntary transfer to another prison far from their families and support networks," the group said in the report.

One notorious officer at the Central California Women's Facility, Greg Rodriguez, was charged last year with 96 counts of rape and other violent sexual conduct.

In a 2022 lawsuit, a former inmate claimed that Rodriguez was a well known sexual predator at the prison. She said he repeatedly ordered her to the room where parole hearings are conducted — and where there are no cameras — to rape her. He told her that no one would believe her if she reported him and that he would ensure her release date would be postponed if she did.

“Sexual assault is a heinous violation of fundamental human dignity that is not tolerated — under any circumstances — within California’s state prison system," Secretary Jeff Macomber of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said. "Our department embraces transparency, and we fully welcome the U.S. Department of Justice’s independent investigation.” 

Sexual abuse of women in prison is not confined to California's state-run prisons. The federal government in April announced it will close down FCI Dublin, known as the “rape club,” despite attempts to reform the troubled facility in Northern California amid claims of “rampant” staff-on-inmate sexual abuse.

Follow @edpettersson

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