BoP settlement Archives - Survivors Rights

Two more former correctional officers from the now-shuttered Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Dublin have been charged with sexually abusing incarcerated women, marking the ninth and tenth such prosecutions in an ongoing federal investigation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of California announced yesterday that Jeffrey Wilson, 34, and Lawrence Gacad, 33, face criminal charges stemming from separate incidents involving female inmates at the infamous California women’s prison. Wilson is charged with five counts of sexual abuse of a ward for allegedly assaulting an inmate, identified as C.S., between March and August 2022. Prosecutors say the abuse occurred repeatedly in a medical room at the prison. Wilson also faces an additional charge for allegedly lying to federal agents about his sexual contact with the inmate and denying he had given her contraband. Gacad is charged with one count of abusive sexual contact involving a different inmate, S.L., between March and June 2022. These charges are the latest development in a sweeping federal investigation that has exposed the culture of systemic abuse and impunity at FCI Dublin. A plaintiff’s attorney emphasized that the prosecution of Wilson and Gacad reflects continued efforts to hold prison staff accountable for their misconduct. If convicted, Wilson faces up to 15 years in prison per count of sexual abuse and eight years for making false statements. Gacad faces up to two years in prison for abusive sexual contact. Both men are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The investigation into FCI Dublin’s corruption began in 2021 and has since led to multiple criminal convictions of prison staff, including the former warden, Ray Garcia, who was found guilty of sexually abusing inmates and sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison. Other convicted staff members include the facility’s chaplain, correctional officers, and even the safety administrator. A federal judge is scheduled to preside over the trial of another officer, Darrell “Dirty Dick” Smith, in September 2025. The abuse at FCI Dublin, which survivors and staff alike came to call “the Rape Club,” shocked the nation. Established in 1974 and converted into a women’s prison in 2012, FCI Dublin housed around 700 inmates before widespread allegations of sexual violence, harassment, and retaliation surfaced. Survivors recounted a pervasive environment where speaking up led to further punishment, including solitary confinement. Early lawsuits in the 1990s failed to lead to systemic reform, enabling decades of unchecked abuse. Public attention surged following multiple indictments beginning in 2021 . In 2023 and 2024, raids by the FBI and a court-ordered special master intervention led to the removal of prison leadership. Amid mounting scrutiny, the Bureau of Prisons (BoP) announced in April 2024 that the prison would permanently close. Roughly 600 incarcerated women were transferred to 13 other facilities across the country, many of them still experiencing retaliation and denied trauma recovery services. In December 2024, more than 100 survivors reached a historic $115 million settlement with the federal government, believed to be the largest in BoP history. That legal victory was accompanied by a proposed consent decree requiring BoP to implement sweeping reforms, including external monitoring, restrictions on solitary confinement, trauma counseling access, and home confinement pathways for eligible survivors. The decree, officially approved in February 2025, also protected transgender and non-citizen inmates despite efforts by the incoming Trump administration to remove those safeguards. While these reforms mark progress, survivors continue to face challenges, especially those who remain incarcerated. Advocates warn that sexual abuse and misconduct persist across the federal prison system, and transferred Dublin survivors report ongoing mistreatment. The civil rights crisis at FCI Dublin has brought rare federal attention to the vulnerability of incarcerated women and the systemic failures that enable such abuse to flourish. FCI Dublin's closure was long overdue, but for many survivors, justice is still elusive. Some have been released and are attempting to rebuild their lives; others remain imprisoned, many of them still without adequate resources. Their fight, and the ongoing prosecutions of those responsible, may help prevent future abuses—but only if public pressure, legal oversight, and systemic reform continue.

BoP settlement

Two More FCI Dublin Correctional Officers Charged With Sexual Abuse, Bringing Total to 10

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BoP settlement

Two More FCI Dublin Correctional Officers Charged With Sexual Abuse, Bringing Total to 10

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