Bureau of Prisons to close California women’s prison where inmates were sexually abused

The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) announced Monday that it would close a California facility described as the "rape club" because of alleged rampant sexual abuse.

Multiple employees at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, have been accused of sexually abusing inmates and retaliating against those who have tried to report it. In some cases, the abuse stretches back decades, according to an investigation by the Associated Press.

FCI Dublin is located near Oakland, and houses 605 inmates. The prisoners will be transferred to another facility, and all employees will keep their jobs, the bureau said. The facility is just one of six federal women’s prisons in the country.

“[BOP has] taken unprecedented steps and provided a tremendous amount of resources to address culture, recruitment and retention, aging infrastructure and — most critical — employee misconduct,” Bureau of Prisons Director Colette Peters told the outlet on Monday. “Despite these steps and resources, we have determined that FCI Dublin is not meeting expected standards and that the best course of action is to close the facility. This decision is being made after ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness of those unprecedented steps and additional resources.”

The announcement of the closure comes 10 days after U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers named Wendy Still to serve as a special master to oversee the prison, per the AP. The judge in March originally ordered the appointment of a “special master”, but did not name a specific candidate at the time.

The FBI has also investigated the prison facility, including last month after a warden was accused of retaliating against a whistleblower. The accusation forced the BOP to make further changes to the prison’s leadership.

Retaliation against inmates who try to report the abuse could consist of being placed in solitary confinement, or having their belongings taken away, according to attorney Amaris Montes, who represented several inmates that sued the facility last year.

At least eight Dublin employees have been charged with sexual abuse so far, five of whom have pleaded guilty, following an AP investigation in 2021. Two others were convicted during a trial, and one other case is still pending. Sexual activity between a prison official and an inmate is illegal, because of the control that employees have over the inmates.