Judge appoints oversight for women’s prison

California facility beset by sex abuse incidents

OAKLAND, Calif. — A judge on Friday appointed a special master to oversee a troubled federal women’s prison in California known for rampant sexual abuse against inmates, marking the first time the Bureau of Prisons has been subject to such oversight.

A 2021 Associated Press investigation that found a culture of abuse and cover-ups at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin brought increased scrutiny from Congress and the Bureau of Prisons. The low-security prison and its adjacent minimum-security satellite camp, located about 21 miles east of Oakland, have more than 600 inmates.

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers named Wendy Still — a veteran corrections and probation official with extensive experience coordinating compliance with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act — as the special master. The judge also appointed several staff members to assist her. In appointing Still, the judge said she and her team “shall have full access to FCI Dublin, all its records, and all physical facilities.”

“The warden shall take all steps to ensure such access,” the judge directed.

Last month, when she ordered

the special master, Rogers called the prison “a dysfunctional mess.” She added that the Bureau of Prisons has “proceeded sluggishly with intentional disregard of the inmates’ constitutional rights despite being fully apprised of the situation for years. The repeated installation of BOP leadership who fail to grasp and address the situation strains credulity.”

The appointment of a special master is part of a federal lawsuit filed in August by eight inmates and the advocacy group California Coalition for Women Prisoners. They allege that sexual abuse and exploitation has not stopped despite

the prosecution of the former warden and several former officers.

FCI Dublin’s sexual abuse scandal has been one of many troubles plaguing the bureau, which is also beset by rampant staffing shortages, suicides and security breaches.

Since 2021, at least eight FCI Dublin employees have been charged with sexually abusing inmates. Five have pleaded guilty. Two were convicted at trial. Another case is pending.

Roughly 50 civil rights lawsuits against FCI Dublin employees are also ongoing.

All sexual activity between a prison worker and an inmate is illegal. Correctional employees enjoy substantial power over inmates, controlling every aspect of their lives from mealtime to lights out, and there is no scenario in which an inmate can give consent.

Rogers made an unannounced visit to the prison Feb. 14, touring the facility and its satellite camp for nine hours. She spoke with at least 100 inmates as well as staff.

Many of the inmates told her that they did not fear sexual misconduct and said “no” when asked if it was still prevalent at the prison, Rogers wrote. Still, the plaintiffs in the August lawsuit have “presented incidents of sexual misconduct that occurred as recently as November of 2023.”

While she did not find that the prison has a “sexualized environment,” as alleged in the lawsuit, the judge wrote that she does not believe that sexual misconduct has been eradicated in FCI Dublin.

Jeff Chiu The Associated Press The Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, Calif., is one of six women-only prisons in the federal system. The low-security facility houses more than 600 inmates.