A prison officer who abused his position of power and carried out an indecent assault at a now notorious detention centre in the 1970s has escaped jail as he was too ill to stand trial. Life-saving measures were administered and he was taken to the Health Care Unit. And when the practices of staff are inconsistent with procedure and policy, that is indicative of failed leadership within the correctional facility.". Federal prosecutors said Chavez was a food service foreman at Dublin in 2020 when he locked the door to the pantry and fondled an inmate. Privately, officials familiar with the case, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, do not dispute her allegations. Sentencing Commission, an independent agency that creates guidelines for federal judges, to carry out a law that gives inmates and their lawyers the right to directly petition courts for compassionate release without having to go through the Bureau of Prisons. Others included the prisons former warden and a chaplain. Ray J. Garcia, 55, of Merced, was accused in 2021 of sexually abusing at least one incarcerated woman at the Federal Correctional Institute in Dublin, east of San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. He denied any allegations of misconduct and said he did not "recall anyone saying anything about" the allegations that Garcia or Ross Klinger, the recycling technician,sexually abused inmates. Rank-and-file prosecutors and prison officials play a vital role their support, or ambivalence, about an application can often be the deciding factor and many have been resistant to free anyone, even an inmate in the final stages of a terminal illness. James Theodore Highhouse was sentenced Wednesday to seven years in prison more than double the recommended punishment in federal sentencing guidelines. I hope that they will not have to go through what I went through. But some groups do not think that goes far enough and are pushing the U.S. A federal lawsuit says the women were attacked by male inmates at the Clark County Jail after a now-charged jailer allowed inmates access to keys last year. The chaplain, James Theodore Highhouse, 49, pleaded guilty as part of a plea agreement in February in federal court to five felonies for sexually abusing a female inmate who came to him for spiritual guidance, and then lying to federal agents during the ensuing investigation. ", 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. For more than a decade, the state has failed to protect inmates at Florida's largest women's prison from sexual abuse by the staff, according to a report released by federal officials on Tuesday. According to the complaint against Klinger, who was accused of one count of sex abuse of a ward, he had sex with two inmates and told both he wanted to father their children and made plans to marry them. Sexual Abuse Prevention. All of the charges stem from allegations Highhouse repeatedly abused a female prisoner over a nine-month span in 2018 and 2019. Aimee Chavira, a federal prisoner currently incarcerated in Arizona, claimed she was repeatedly sexually abused by male staff at the Dublin womens prison, near Oakland. ", Tami Abdollah is a USA TODAY national correspondent covering inequities in the criminal justice system. Statistics regarding the number and frequency of sexual abuse in prisons vary greatly. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. U.S. District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. said the guidelines, which call for a sentence of less than three years, seriously underestimate the seriousness" of Highhouse's conduct. All sexual activity between a prison worker and an inmate is illegal. ", He added: "What kind of message does it send when incarcerated people are bravely speaking out, only to learn that their reports are dismissed? FILE - The Federal Correctional Institution is shown in Dublin, Calif., July 20, 2006. And they immediately made it clear what they were after. The former warden, Ray J. Garcia, was arraigned Wednesday on a superseding indictment charging him with abusing two additional inmates, for a total of seven counts involving three victims. Peters said she will aim to improve internal surveillance systems and introduce body cameras as long as there's sufficient funding in place from Congress. To me the BOP is an epic fail in terms of the way they handle PREA," the inmate wrote, referring to the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act. Michael E. Horowitz, the inspector general, told the committee he was committed to streamlining and strengthening investigations, in line with the recommendations of a working group convened by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland to address the problem. 0:57. She is scheduled to be released in 2026. Unbelievable! Enrique Chavez isthe fifth Bureau of Prisons employee at the high-profileNorthern California prison in Dublin to be indicted at the facility since spring 2021. During interviews, several inmates expressed concern about reporting sexual abuse, indicating that they feared the facility would retaliate against them, the auditor found. Little has been done by government or prison wards to stop rapists inside of prisons. The high-profile Dublin prison in Northern California, formerly home to well-known actorsand one of the nation's few all-female federal prisons,has come under scrutiny in recent months for alleged systemic abuse. Select the option or tab named Internet Options (Internet Explorer), Options (Firefox), Preferences (Safari) or Settings (Chrome). None of these six officers was ever prosecuted.. In his letter, Mr. Wills encouraged Ms. Chavira to submit a new request upon receipt of a final adjudication of her allegations, without offering further explanation. Linda De La Rosa, formerly incarcerated in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, testifies during the hearing of Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Investigations, on Sexual Abuse of Female Inmates in Federal Prisons, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 13, 2022. who have detailed pervasive misconduct during their incarceration at Dublin, four-fifths of compassionate release requests, ordered the closing of a troubled special detention unit. In September, Ms. Monaco wrote a letter to the prisoners rights group Families Against Mandatory Minimums, saying that she had ordered the bureaus new director, Colette S. Peters, to review whether B.O.P.s policy regarding compassionate release should be modified to accommodate female prisoners who had been assaulted by federal employees. In 2019, Ms. Reynolds took the lonely, terrifying risk of identifying the officer who pressured her for sex and quickly discovered she was one of at least 10 women who had been abused by officers and workers at the facility. Governments "have a moral, ethical and, perhaps most importantly, Constitutional responsibility to ensure that the Bill of Rights is upheld for every inmate that's detained," Lindsay said. On Wednesday, Bureau of Prisons Director Colette Peters visited Dublin for an update. Aided by Denver attorneys David Lane, Liana Orshan and Tania Valdez, Arapahoe filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the BOP and numerous employees, which eventually settled for $750,000. She said that she feared getting placed in solitary confinement if she tried to report the officer and was aware of other women who were punished for reporting abuse. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Among the findings made public: Bureau employees abused female prisoners in at least 19 of the 29 federal facilities that have held women over the past decade; in at least four prisons, managers failed to apply the federal law intended to detect and reduce sexual assault; and hundreds of sexual abuse charges are among a backlog of 8,000 internal affairs misconduct cases yet to be investigated. John Russell . The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), the government agency responsible for more than 150,000 inmates inside 122 facilities across the country, has been operating in crisis mode for months. A former Bureau of Prisons (BOP) correctional officer was arrested today in Oahu, Hawaii, on criminal charges related to his alleged sexual abuse of female inmates. WASHINGTON - Three survivors of sexual assault in federal prison described years of horrific abuse by prison staffers who used their unfettered access to . An inmate at Illinois' largest women's prison says she was raped by a transgender inmate who was transferred into her housing unit last year, and claims Illinois Department of Corrections officials conducted a "sham investigation" to help cover up the incident. There are some cases they should be agreeing to immediately, if this policy is really about justice at all, said Erica Zunkel, Ms. Chaviras lawyer, who represents clients through a law clinic at the University of Chicago, where she is a professor. Nearly two-thirds of the abused youngsters said that the officials lured them into sexual relationships by giving them special treatment . It was filed on behalf of eight of the women, all identified as Jane Doe, against Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel, now-former corrections officer David Lowe, and several unknown officers at the jail in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Darrin Klimek/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) The Federal Bureau of Prisons "has not been able to identify the prevalence and scope of inmate-on-staff sexual harassment," a new report released by the Justice Department's inspector general found, adding that the problem is "widespread" and affects female officers. Highhouse is among five workers charged in the last 14 months with sexually abusing inmates at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, and the first to reach the sentencing phase of his case. He refused to confess to a supposed plot against the prison administration and three men subjected him to continuous violent sexual abuse, he says. The Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA; P.L. WASHINGTON The Bureau of Prisons has rejected the early release of a female inmate who said she had been sexually abused by male employees at a notorious California penitentiary, reflecting a broader struggle by the Justice Department to free inmates abused in federal custody, when appropriate. The incidents of abuse he engaged in were conducted outside of areas where there was any or functional surveillance video. Just as Martinez is facing justice for this case, a Manhattan Federal Jail . In their sentencing memorandum, Highhouses lawyers noted that he served as an Army chaplain in Iraq and Afghanistan, is seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and cares for his elderly mother after his father's death this year. The allegations of widespread sexual abuse at Dublin have increased pressure on the bureau, which is responsible for about 160,000 inmates around the country. Before the law could take it course, Xaviers prisoner inmates decided to teach him a lesson. Chavez pleaded guilty in October to one count of abusive sexual contact with a prisoner at the Federal Correctional Institute, Dublin in the San Francisco Bay Area. For breaking news and live news updates, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram. "As alleged, the defendant's conduct targeted vulnerable victims and undermined the dual mission of the Bureau of Prisons: to provide a safe, humane custodial environment while . External Reporting of Inmate Sexual Abuse/Sexual Harassment and Retaliation Through the Office of Corrections Ombudsman. Dublin isone of the country's 122 federal prisons and one of five all-women prisons in the federal system. They seek damages but do not name a specific dollar amount. Army veteran Allison Jaslow also is the first LGBTQ leader of a major veterans service organization. In our view, theyve forfeited the right to have a monopoly over compassionate release., Justice Dept. The other woman who was raped became pregnant and later miscarried, William McCall, one of the two lawyers representing the 20 women who filed the first federal lawsuit, told The Washington Post. 0:03. Catch up on the developing stories making headlines. He said he was first . Federal Bureau of Prisons Director Colette Peters, who was appointed in July, appeared at the hearing and was asked by Ossoff why the bureau hasn't made systemic changes to prevent abuse, given the volume of alleged and corroborated complaints. (Also read:SHOCKING! According to BJS (Bureau of Justice Statistics), one in five inmates in state prisons report a physical assault by another inmate. Ms. Peters has said she has begun to consider requests from inmates who have been abused and are not deemed to be threats to the community if they are granted their release. The prisons former warden, prison safety administratorand recycling technician were all indicted on similar charges last year, and its chaplain whose office was sealed off by authoritiessince prior to the pandemic was indicted earlier this year. Copyright 2023 Gilliams seven-year sentence matched the recommendation of probation officers who conducted Highhouses pre-sentence investigation. Advocates say that repurposing prisons with an emphasis on alternatives to incarceration can help drive reform. If B.O.P. As alleged, the defendants conduct targeted vulnerable victims and undermined the dual mission of the Bureau of Prisons: to provide a safe, humane custodial environment while preparing individuals for a return to society, said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. In the case of the former warden, Garcia,such "dead spots" in video surveillance were crucial aspects of his case. Chavez was the fifth employee at the Dublin prison to be charged with sexual abuse of inmates since June 2021. He was placed on leave in March and arrested in December. The lawsuit also alleges that the disgraced lieutenant raped another inmate in 1994, 21 years before he attacked Maria. Reporting Sexual Abuse of Inmates. Klingeralso allegedly had sex with another inmate in a cargo container while another inmate acted as a lookout. Female inmates say they were raped, assaulted and threatened on the night of October 23, 2021, according to a new lawsuit. The former warden, Ray J. Garcia, was arraigned Wednesday on a superseding indictment charging him with abusing two additional inmates, for a total of seven counts involving three victims. Former inmate and survivor Briane Moore testified before the subcommittee on Tuesday . The attacks on fellow prisoners took place between September and October. Without reliable internal investigations, sentencing judges are more likely to reject compassionate release requests after conducting their own fact-gathering efforts, department officials say, unless a prison official is criminally charged with abusing a particular inmate. The situation at Dublin, which prompted Mr. Ossoff to embark on his panels broader investigation last spring, has also spurred the Justice Department to consider overhauling its policies governing compassionate release for inmates who have been abused. The former chaplain, James Theodore Highhouse, was sentenced toseven years in prison. This means that, even if survivors "muster sort of an unfathomable courage to" report staff abusers, "in the vast majority of cases, the . The Office of the Corrections Ombudsman serves as an available independent external resource for both inmates and third parties to report incidents . Struggles to Carry Out Early Release Program for Abused Inmates, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/22/us/politics/federal-prisons-inmate-abuse.html. Inmates have the right to be safe from sexually abusive behavior. If you sweep it under the rug, she said, nothing will change.. By Phil Helsel, Maya Brown and Corky Siemaszko. Garcia was charged with abusing three inmates between December 2019 and July 2021. BOP employees, including Officer James Townsend, Chaplain Hightower, and Officer Bell, fostered a culture of rampant sexual abuse of prisoners widely referred to as 'the rape club,'" court documents allege, per the outlet. As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and . Copyright 2023 Corrections1. Sentencing Commission to give inmates the right to directly request a compassionate release ruling from trial judges rather than rely on the bureau. A transgender female prisoner says she repeatedly begged not to be housed with a convicted rapist, but was forced to share a bunk with him anyway and then allegedly got raped within 24 hours . Last year, an Associated Pressinvestigationrevealed years of sexual misconduct at FCI Dublin. According to reports, A Brazilian Jujitsu instructor Daryell Dickson Menenzes Xavier surrendered to authorities and confessed that to sexually assaulting and murdering his son at the mere age of twelve months old. The Federal Bureau of Prisons has a zero tolerance policy against sexual abuse and is committed to respecting and protecting the rights of its incarcerated population. In May, an inmate now incarcerated at another federal prison facility reported that Highhouse raped her multiple times in his chapel office after she sought him out for counseling, prosecutors said. She explained that after having a daughter at age 17, she was looking for extra money and began selling crack cocaine. researches product purchases and suppliers. The ex-prison worker was the fifth employee at the facility to be charged with sexual abuse of inmates since June 2021. Let this send a clear message that the FBI will investigate and hold accountable any and every individual who commits an act like this, regardless of your title or authority.. Attorneys for Highhouse did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Behind a closed chapel office door inside a federal womens prison in California, a chaplain forced inmates seeking his spiritual guidance to have sex with him, exploiting their faith and their powerlessness behind bars for his own gratification, prosecutors said. government has been ordered . Im constantly on alert. It found that the prison met all 45 standards, but did not exceed any standards. Under current rules, the Bureau of Prisons initiates the process of requesting a compassionate release, filing a formal motion with the judge who presided over the original trial. He . Additionally, the Bureau found that 3.1% of inmates reported sexual victimization by inmates and staff in one year. He has no prior criminal history, they wrote. Theres a lack of accountability, a secrecy, if nobody gets out there and talks about it, said Ms. Reynolds, whose decision to speak to investigators prompted other women to expose yearslong sexual abuse. Send tips via direct message@latamsor emailtami(at)usatoday.com, As prisons close, communities reimagine buildings, State prisons across the U.S. have been closing due to budget cuts, declining crime rates and poor treatment of prisoners. Highhouse, who was arrested in January and pleaded guilty in February, would tell women he abused at the Bay Area lockup, that everyone in the Bible had sex and that God wanted them to be together, prosecutors said. releases or should release people who have a diagnosis of impending death, and they take an experts word on it, said Kevin Ring, president of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, a prisoners rights group in Washington. The person assaulted is either seen as weaker, or gang banged . Multiple female inmates sexually assaulted at Indiana jail, lawsuit alleges. Updated. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers sentenced Enrique Chavez to . If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone call the confidential crisis helpline Safe to Talk on: 0800 044 334 or text 4334.

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