In order to settle lawsuits filed by over 100 women who claim they were mistreated or abused at a now-closed federal prison in California known as the “rape club” due to widespread staff-on-inmate sexual misconduct, the U.S. government will pay close to $116 million.
In accordance with settlements reached on Tuesday, the Justice Department will compensate each of the 103 women who sued the Bureau of Prisons separately for their treatment at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, with an average of almost $1.1 million.
The settlement comes after the Bureau of Prisons agreed to publicly recognize widespread abuse and retaliation at FCI Dublin and to allow a court-appointed monitor to visit some of its institutions in a separate class-action last week.
“We were sentenced to prison, we were not sentenced to be assaulted and abused,” former Dublin prisoner Aimee Chavira, the plaintiff in the complaint, stated.
“I hope this settlement will help survivors, like me, as they begin to heal but money will not repair the harm that BOP did to us, or free survivors who continue to suffer in prison, or bring back survivors who were deported and separated from their families,” Chavira stated.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Bureau of Prisons recognized the agreements.
The law enforcement organization stated that it “strongly condemns all forms of sexually abusive behavior and takes seriously its duty to protect the individuals in our custody as well as maintain the safety of our employees and community.”
The settlements reached on Tuesday address a first round of lawsuits requesting financial reparations from the Bureau of Prisons following the incarceration of a former warden and other staff members at FCI Dublin for sexually abusing prisoners. Lawsuits that followed have not yet been settled.
According to the Bureau of Prisons and the plaintiffs’ attorneys, the amount of each settlement was decided by an impartial, third-party process.
The Bureau of Prisons and the plaintiffs’ attorneys filed a proposed consent decree last week to settle the class-action lawsuit. The decree calls for a number of reforms, including the appointment of a monitor to examine the treatment of nearly 500 former Dublin inmates who are currently being held at over a dozen federal lockups across the United States.
Colette Peters, the agency’s director, “will issue a formal, public acknowledgement to victims of staff sexual abuse at FCI Dublin” as part of the settlement, according to the agreement.
After temporarily closing FCI Dublin in April, the Bureau of Prisons declared last week that the low-security institution will be permanently decommissioned.
In a statement, the Bureau of Prisons stated that although it had accepted “the substantive terms of a proposed settlement to resolve all injunctive claims” in the class-action lawsuit on November 21, “the decision to permanently close (FCI Dublin) is not a result of the agreement.” The settlement was submitted to the district court on Friday.
The AP has discovered several arrests and convictions of Bureau of Prisons employees for sexually abusing inmates at other federal prisons, and some of the women who reported abuse at Dublin said they have experienced similar mistreatment at other facilities.
The institution had a long history of abuse and cover-ups, according to an AP investigation. Congress began to pay more attention as a result of that research, and the Bureau of Prisons made commitments to address issues and alter the prison’s culture, but those promises were shelved with Thursday’s closing news.
At least eight FCI Dublin staff members have been accused of sexually abusing prisoners since 2021.
Five have entered guilty pleas. Ray Garcia, the former warden, was one of two people found guilty at trial.There is still another lawsuit pending.
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Eliot Pierce is a dedicated writer for ChiefsFocus.com, covering local crime and finance news. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for storytelling, Eliot aims to provide his readers with clear and insightful analysis, helping them navigate the complexities of their financial lives while staying informed about important local events. His commitment to delivering accurate and engaging content makes him a valuable resource for the community.