Women victimized in ‘rape club’ at California prison get record $116-million settlement
In a staggering settlement, the federal government will pay $116 million to more than 100 women who said they were sexually abused by employees at a now-shuttered federal prison in Dublin, Calif., that was dubbed the “rape club.”
The settlement marks the largest amount ever paid by the federal government for misconduct in federal prisons. The women will receive an average of about $1.1 million each to settle litigation against the Bureau of Prisons over their mistreatment at the Federal Correctional Institution in the East Bay community.
The developments are the latest twist in a years-long scandal surrounding the facility. Since an FBI investigation was launched and resulted in arrests in 2021, eight FCI Dublin employees have been charged with sexually abusing inmates.
Five have pleaded guilty, and juries have convicted two, including former warden Ray Garcia. The Bureau of Prisons in April temporarily closed the prison because it was so plagued by sexual abuse that it became known as the rape club. That closure became permanent last month.
“It sends a message that sexual abuse of incarcerated individuals will not be tolerated in this society,” said Jessica Pride, a San Diego-based attorney for many of the women. “There are now $116 million worth of reasons for the Bureau of Prisons to care about those behind bars.”
Pride said that 29 correctional officers who worked at the prison are still on leave. “I would expect there to be further criminal charges. With about 30 officers involved in these incidents, this went on for years,” she said. Pride said the settlement probably covers only about half of the potential cases, as many new claims are still being processed.
“Many women still fear coming forward because they saw other women sent to the SHU [special housing unit]. I talked to a woman who came forward today,” Pride said.
Since 2003 the California Department of Health Services has paid a vendor $96 million to oversee the release of 56 sexually violent predators — an average cost of about $1.6 million per predator, according to a recently released audit.
Aimee Chavira was one of the survivors of FCI Dublin who took part in the monetary settlement.
“We were sentenced to prison, we were not sentenced to be assaulted and abused,” she said. “I hope this settlement will help survivors, like me, as they begin to heal — but money will not repair the harm that [Bureau of Prisons] did to us, or free survivors who continue to suffer in prison, or bring back survivors who were deported and separated from their families.”
The financial settlement follows a separate class-action suit, which was resolved last week, with the Bureau of Prisons agreeing to subject facilities to a court-appointed monitor while publicly acknowledging that sexual abuse was pervasive and retaliation was common. The women housed at FCI Dublin were transferred to other facilities.
In March 2023, U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez referred to the prison’s “culture of sexual abuse” in sentencing Garcia, the former warden.
A federal jury in Oakland found him guilty of three counts of sex with an incarcerated person, four counts of abusive sexual contact and one count of lying to the FBI.
He groped three incarcerated women and made them pose naked for photos. Before his sentencing, one of his victims told Garcia: “You are a predator and a pervert. You are a disgrace to the federal government.”
In a statement, the Bureau of Prisons acknowledged Tuesday’s settlement, saying it “strongly condemns all forms of sexually abusive behavior and takes seriously its duty to protect the individuals in our custody as well as maintain the safety of our employees and community.”
The bureau added that the agency remains “committed to rooting out criminal behavior and holding accountable those who violate their oath of office.”
“While sexual abuse is unfortunately endemic to prison settings across America, this is the largest known combined Bureau of Prisons sexual abuse settlement in history. It’s a crucial step in holding the Bureau of Prisons accountable for its systematic failure to protect women in its custody,” attorney Adam Slater said of the prison that housed 605 inmates. His firm represented 24 of the 103 individuals in the settlement.
Allegations of sexual assault at Dublin stretch back to the 1990s. Four employees were previously convicted of sexual abuse of inmates. Those incidents and civil litigation forced the prison to commit to reforms.
But lawyers say those reforms were “ultimately ineffective or abandoned.” By the early 2010s, they note, “a dozen FCI Dublin employees were removed for sexual abuse, including one who videotaped himself having sex with inmates and stored tapes in a prison locker — but none were arrested.”
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