Allegations about prison boss concerning to DOJ
Hinkle accused of violating rules to suppress complaint
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department says it is gravely concerned about allegations that a high-ranking federal prison official entrusted to end sexual abuse and cover-ups at a women’s prison known as the “rape club” may have taken steps to suppress a recent complaint about staff misconduct.
Deputy Regional Director T. Ray Hinkle is accused of attempting to silence a female employee who said she had been harassed by a manager at the prison – the federal correctional institution in Dublin, California – by meeting with her personally in violation of established protocols.
“These allegations, if true, are abhorrent, and the Department of Justice takes them very seriously,” the Justice Department said in response to questions from The Associated Press about Hinkle’s alleged behavior.
Hinkle, who pledged to staff that he would help Dublin “regain its reputation” during a stint as acting warden that ended this week, was also admonished by his bosses at the federal Bureau of Prisons for sending all-staff emails that were critical of agency leadership and policies.
In one email, Hinkle complained that he was unable to defend himself in an AP story last week about allegations that he bullied whistleblower employees, threatened to close Dublin if they kept speaking up about misconduct, and stonewalled a congresswoman who sought to speak candidly with staff and inmates at the prison last month.
Hinkle didn’t respond to email and text messages seeking comment. He previously said that he was not authorized to speak with the media.
Four workers at Dublin, including a warden, have been arrested in the last eight months and charged with sexually abusing inmates. Several others are under investigation. FBI agents were at the facility Tuesday and Wednesday questioning inmates and staff.
The Bureau of Prisons says Director Michael Carvajal will visit Dublin soon. Members of Congress say they’re also planning to visit as they seek to push back against agency interference and increase oversight of the crisis-plagued federal prison system. The Justice Department said it will say more in the coming weeks about actions it is taking to combat abuse at Dublin.
Hinkle’s management of Dublin in the wake of the sexual abuse arrests – at a time when he was supposed to be rooting out misconduct and boosting morale – has only heightened scrutiny of the facility and eroded trust among staff, inmates and top officials at Justice Department and Bureau of Prisons headquarters in Washington D.C.
After receiving a copy of a memo the female employee wrote detailing her alleged harassment, Hinkle called her into his office at Dublin and spoke with her one on one, people familiar with the matter told the AP. The woman felt blindsided and, after the meeting, was reluctant to proceed with her complaint, the people said. They were not authorized to speak about sensitive prison matters and did so on condition of anonymity.
The woman’s union had provided her memo to Hinkle, expecting that he, as the official in charge of the prison, would follow proper procedures to have her harassment complaint investigated. They expected him to respect her anonymity and did not anticipate he would attempt to speak to her on his own, the people said.