Approximately 6.5 percent of all federal inmates are female. There are few federal women’s prisons in the U.S. One of them is the Federal Correctional Institute in Dublin, California, in the San Francisco Bay area. Inmates at Dublin are alleging widespread sexual abuse by staffers, a situation both inmates and workers refer to as the “Rape Club.” When inmates attempted to report the abuse, they were ignored or punished.
Last September, the warden, Ray Garcia, 54, was charged with sexual abuse of a ward at the prison. He is accused of attacking the inmate on multiple occasions while he was an associate warden. Garcia is alleged to have photographed the woman naked in her cell and also asked her and another inmate to strip for him. He kept the nude photos on his government-issued cellphone.
Earlier last year, a former guard named Ross Klinger was charged with sexual abuse after allegedly coercing two inmates into sexual activity. He told both women he wanted to marry them and have them bear his children. Klinger even showed up at a halfway house with a diamond ring after one woman was discharged.
FCI Dublin has a total of 763 inmates. Of those, 629 reside at the low-security institution, while another 134 are housed in an adjacent minimum security satellite camp. Although the prisoners are female, most of the staff is male. The majority of the inmates are there for drug-related offenses. Recent inmates have included actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, who served their sentences for taking part in a college admissions bribery case.
Years of Sexual Abuse and Coverup
According to an investigation by the Associated Press, a “permissive and toxic” culture existed at the Dublin prison. The report details the sexual abuse and how inmates who reported abuse were sent to solitary confinement and otherwise punished. Those officials who were in charge of preventing such abuse were themselves accused of abuse, as was the case with Garcia.
Although inmates first made complaints about the sexual abuse rampant at Dublin five years ago, it appears nothing was done. A woman who complained in 2017 and is now suing the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) said that she was fired from her job in the prison commissary after she complained. When she reported the retaliation to a counselor, the staffer took the side of the abuser. The counselor said, “Child, do you want him to lose his job?”
In 2019, another inmate filed a lawsuit. She alleged repeated raping by a maintenance foreman. Other workers helped the foreman and made fun of the woman. When a prison investigator found out, the woman was placed in solitary confinement for three months and then sent to another facility.
A National Issue
The problem of sexual abuse affects prisons nationwide. In 2020, there were 422 complaints of staff on inmate sexual abuse throughout the 122 BOP facilities. Any sexual relations between prison staff and inmates are illegal. To date, the BOP says it has substantiated just four of the complaints and investigated 290.
A Female Warden
Thahesha Justino is scheduled to become Dublin’s next warden. She told the AP that she is committed to ensuring the safety of inmates, staff, and the public.
If you or a loved one suffered catastrophic injuries or sexual assault at the hands of the police, prison guards or jail staff, you may be entitled to damages. Visit our inmate abuse information page for more details.
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