Some California women’s prisons have failed to protect inmates from sexual abuse and harassment by prison staff, the U.S. Department of Justice announced during a Thursday, Aug. 13 news conference in downtown Los Angeles, following a nearly two-year long investigation.
The announcement comes after the investigation into the California Institution for Women in Chino, the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla and the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation found the facilities and department violated the 8th and 14th Amendments, which prohibit cruel and unusual punishment and guarantee equal protection under the law.
The investigation also found that the Prison Rape Elimination Act was inadequately implemented.
“This state must confront the persistent failure of its own employees to prevent and address future sexual abuse at these facilities,” said Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney.
Going forward, California must expand camera coverage, improve confidential reporting channels, strengthen investigative protocol, and update staff training and monitoring and add safeguards to comply with the Prison Rape Elimination Act, authorities said. The state has 49 days to comply.
Examples of abuse found during the investigation include a sergeant at the California Institution for Women provided contraband in exchange for “sexual favors” from incarcerated women, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said.
“He was caught on camera caressing a prisoner’s breast and turning off his body camera,” she said.
An officer from the Chowchilla facility was convicted of sexual misconduct charges for actions that took place over a decade and a sergeant tasked with investigating staff sexual misconduct allegations was sentenced to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography on the job, Dhillon said.
“Prisoners ought to be able to report this type of staff abuse without retaliation,” Dhillon said.
An online system that allows staff, including those accused of misconduct, to access complaints, is a “gap in confidentiality” that inmates are aware of and that deters them from reporting misconduct, Dhillon said.
The investigation also found that staff with “sustained allegations of sexual misconduct” were allowed to retire with benefits or resign without sanctions, according to the DOJ.
Throughout the investigation, officials conducted site visits, reviewed thousands of pages of documents, which included investigative records and misconduct logs and consulted experts, Dhillon said.
The state has 49 days to implement the mandated changes before the federal government can seek litigation, Essayli said, though he and Dhillon do not foresee that being necessary, as the state has historically complied with remediation efforts in similar investigations.