Bureau of Prisons agrees to court monitor, public acknowledgement of staff-on-inmate sexual abuse
FILE - The Federal Correctional Institution stands in Dublin, Calif., Dec. 5, 2022. The federal Bureau of Prisons is permanently closing its “rape club” women’s prison in California and will idle six other facilities in a sweeping realignment after years of abuse, decay and mismanagement, the Associated Press has learned. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — 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 a proposed consent decree on Friday that mandates increased transparency and key protections for victims, including pathways to early release and home confinement.
The agency’s director, Colette Peters, “will issue a formal, public acknowledgement to victims of staff sexual abuse at FCI Dublin” as part of the settlement.
The agreement, which will require a judge’s approval, comes after months of negotiations to resolve a class-action lawsuit filed last year that sought concrete changes to the Bureau of Prisons’ treatment of female inmates and its handling of abuse claims.
The proposed consent decree, which would be in effect for at least two years, “is a historic victory, but our work is just beginning,” said Emily Shapiro, an advocate with the California Coalition for Women Prisoners and Dublin Prison Solidarity Coalition.
“We will fight to ensure the agreement is fully implemented, and we will remain in daily communication with FCI Dublin survivors and continue to demand their freedom, bold policy changes across the prison system, and ultimately, community-based alternatives to prisons and the gender violence they perpetuate,” said Shapiro.
The class-action lawsuit, filed last year in federal court in Oakland, is one of several aimed at holding the agency accountable after a former warden and other employees at FCI Dublin went to prison for sexually abusing inmates.
Other lawsuits seek monetary compensation for victims who say they endured abuse and retribution at the low-security facility, which has been known among staff and inmates as the “rape club.”
The proposed settlement applies directly to nearly 500 inmates who were moved to other federal prisons after the Bureau of Prisons temporarily closed FCI Dublin in April before announcing its permanent shutdown Thursday.
The Bureau of Prisons said in a statement that it agreed to “the substantive terms of a proposed settlement to resolve all injunctive claims” in the class-action lawsuit on Nov. 21 and that while that settlement was filed with the district court Friday, “the decision to permanently close (FCI Dublin) is not a result of the agreement.”
But people involved in the negotiations say it’s likely thousands more incarcerated women will benefit as the court-appointed monitor scrutinizes the treatment of ex-Dublin prisoners now housed at more than a dozen federal lockups across the U.S.
The monitor will have access to the women, staff and records and will issue monthly reports to the public on key findings on a range of issues, including staff abuse and retaliation against inmates, medical care and compliance with early release rules.
Some of the women who alleged abuse at Dublin say they have been the victims of similar misconduct at other institutions, and the AP has found multiple arrests and convictions of Bureau of Prisons staff members for sexually abusing prisoners at other federal lockups.
“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,” said plaintiffs’ lawyer Amaris Montes of the legal advocacy organization Rights Behind Bars.
Before coming to an agreement, the Bureau of Prisons fought to have the lawsuit dismissed — arguing at one point that FCI Dublin’s temporary closure had made the case moot. The agency started moving inmates out of the facility just days after the judge in the case, Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, appointed a special master to oversee its operations.
On Friday, the Bureau of Prisons and plaintiffs’ lawyers jointly asked Gonzalez Rogers to choose the same person, Wendy Still, as the court-appointed monitor mandated by the settlement agreement.
Under the proposed agreement, plaintiffs will have ongoing and confidential access to the court-appointed monitor, lawyers and community-based counselors to report abuse and possible consent decree violations.
The proposed agreement also includes protections against retaliation, including a ban on the Bureau of Prisons putting incarcerated plaintiffs in a special housing unit — a form of detention akin to solitary confinement — for low-level disciplinary matters.
The agency will also be required to review and expunge invalid disciplinary reports by FCI Dublin staff that, in some instances, may have been issued to punish or keep inmates quiet. If allowed to stand, those disciplinary reports could hamper an inmate’s access to early release or placement in a halfway house.
Under the proposed agreement, the agency must release eligible plaintiffs to halfway houses and home confinement as soon as possible and must not deny early release solely on the basis of immigration status or a detainer. The agency will also be required to restore early release credits that inmates may have lost when they were transferred from FCI Dublin.
“BOP must follow the agreement for the people still in custody,” said plaintiff Griselda Muniz. “Ultimately, we are praying for their return home, as they deserve to heal from these traumatic events with their loved ones.”
An AP investigation found a culture of abuse and cover-ups that had persisted for years at the prison. That reporting led to increased scrutiny from Congress and pledges from the Bureau of Prisons that it would fix problems and change the culture at the prison — promises that went by the wayside with Thursday’s closure announcement.
Since 2021, at least eight FCI Dublin employees have been charged with sexually abusing inmates.
Five have pleaded guilty. Two were convicted at trial, including former warden Ray Garcia. Another case is pending.
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