Tag Archives: sex abuse

Something for the Ladies – Update for December 26, 2025

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We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.

THE WOMEN ARE RESTLESS…

More Dublin Lawsuits Expected:  Nearly 300 women who were incarcerated at the now-closed FCI Dublin prison are expected to file sexual assault claims against the Bureau of Prisons, after 103 women won an unprecedented $116 million from the agency exactly one year ago. 

AUSA Jevechius Bernardoni told US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers (ED Cal.) last week that the BOP expects a Round 2 “total of 280 cases” to be filed within the next six months against the agency and individual correctional officers, bringing the total of Dublin sex abuse cases to nearly 400.

Deborah Golden, an attorney representing dozens of the women claiming abuse at FCI Dublin, said, “There could even be a Round 3.” Then-BOP Director Colette Peters ordered FCI Dublin closed and the inmates moved to other facilities in April 2024, expressing frustration at the BOP’s inability to change the abusive nature of the facility.

KTVU-TV, FCI Dublin: Nearly 300 more women expected to file sex assault claims vs. BOP (December 17, 2025)

Associated Press, US to pay nearly $116M to settle lawsuits over rampant sexual abuse at California women’s prison (December 17, 2024)

FMC Carswell Prisoners Missing Dialysis, Report Alleges:  Women prisoners at FMC Carswell allege in court filings, medical records, expert reviews and interviews that the Bureau of Prisons is providing inadequate dialysis care, putting their lives and health at risk, according to the Marshall Project. 

Carswell is the BOP’s only women’s medical center and its only facility providing in-patient dialysis for women.

Lawyers, doctors, former prison officials and incarcerated women describe missed or shortened dialysis treatments, broken or poorly maintained machines, water system failures, inadequate patient education and serious infection risks. Medical experts who reviewed the allegations said the conditions described could be preventable and potentially fatal.

Despite these concerns, the complaints allege, the BOP operates with little external oversight of its medical care. The Marshall Project said that judges overseeing compassionate release requests have said they lack authority to intervene broadly even when testimony raises significant concerns.

The Marshall Project, Women Are Sent to This Federal Prison for Dialysis. They Say It’s Killing Them. (December 16, 2025)

~ Thomas  L. Root

Sizzling Hot, Drugs and Sex at the BOP – Update for August 19, 2025

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We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.

Summer is ending with back-to-school, football, and cooler days upon us. In commemoration of a short summer, I am condensing a surprising amount of news from last week into ‘shorts’.

BOP ‘SHORTS’

Hot Fun in the Summertime:  Forty House Democrats signed a letter from Rep Alma Adams (D-NC) last week to Bureau of Prisons Director William K. Marshall III expressing concern over the effects of extreme heat on BOP prisoners.

The letter asked 13 detailed questions about air conditioning in BOP facilities, including about prisons without AC or with broken systems, how many heat-related health incidents (illnesses, strokes, and deaths) have occurred since 2022, and any mitigation strategies used where prisoners and staff are in excessive heat.

The letter seeks a response by September 10, 2025.

Letter to William K. Marshall III (August 11, 2025)

BOP Unions Continue ‘Drug Poisoning’ Drumbeat:  It’s been a year since BOP employee Marc Fischer died after coming in contact with purported legal mail to a USP Atwater inmate that was soaked in a liquid “spice” mixture.  The death sparked a flurry of hand-wringing over BOP employees in danger that was not even quelled by autopsy results showing Mr. Fischer died of a heart attack, not exposure to any drugs.

The facts have not detained BOP staff unions, who last week issued a press release asking, “Does another staff member have to die before the Federal Bureau of Prisons finally takes the crisis of drugs entering prisons through the mail seriously? It’s now been a year since Marc Fischer—a longtime mailroom supervisor at U.S. Penitentiary Atwater and former Coast Guard member—lost his life after being exposed to contaminated mail, just before his planned retirement. Since then, nothing has changed. Dangerous substances continue to pour into federal prisons weekly, and staff are left to fight this epidemic with outdated technology and little support from the Bureau.”

The press release asserted that in recent incidents, “17 officers at Thomson were hospitalized after exposure to dangerous substances in the mailroom and required Narcan to survive. Days earlier, ten staff members at FCC Victorville suffered exposures over a four-day stretch.”

The BOP was a bit more circumspect: “We can confirm that several employees at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Thomson have begun feeling unwell following a possible exposure to an unknown substance. Some employees were transported to a local hospital by emergency medical services (EMS).”

In a separate report, WDTV reported that 5 FCI Hazelton employees were taken to the hospital last Wednesday morning, according to the BOP, after being exposed to drugs. The report said, “Any time fentanyl or carfentanil is found, the officers are being sent to the hospital as a precaution…”

WTTV, Federal Prison Staff Still at Risk as Drugs Continue Flooding Through the Mail (August 13, 2025)

WDTV, Multiple FCI Hazelton employees exposed to carfentanil for 4th time this week (August 11, 2025)

Dublin Scandal Nets More Guilty Pleas:  Former BOP correctional officers Jeffrey Wilson and Lawrence Gacad have pled to sexually abusing female inmates at FCI Dublin, formerly a low-security female prison.

Wilson and Gacad were charged last June and entered pleas on August 4. They are the eighth and ninth BOP staffers to have either pled guilty or been convicted involving sexual abuse of Dublin inmates.  The BOP has already agreed to a $116 million payout to abused women.

Dept of Justice, Two More FCI Dublin Correctional Officers Plead Guilty To Sexually Abusing Female Inmates (August 7, 2025)

~ Thomas L. Root

FCI Dublin Is A Neverending Shop of Horrors – Update for July 18, 2025

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We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.

SAME OL’ SAME OL’, DUBLIN SPECIAL MASTER TELLS COURT

The female prisoners who were subject to sexual abuse at FCI Dublin and whose treatment by the BOP is still be monitored by US District Court for the eastern District of California are still complaining of being sexually assaulted, retaliated against and not getting medical care at more than a dozen federal facilities across the country, according to a report filed by Wendy Still, appointed special master by the court to monitor BOP compliance with the lawsuit’s settlement agreement.

Still, the former chief Alameda County probation department officer, is monitoring the former Dublin inmates with a team that includes a doctor, nurse and a prison rape expert.

“The report found significant deficiencies and affirms much of what survivors of BOP already know,” Kara Janssen, an attorney at Rosen, Bien, Galvan and Grunfeld, told KTVU-TV. “That the problems that came to light at FCI Dublin were symptoms of larger, systemic problems throughout BOP.”

The report, the first monthly report to be issued (covering April 2025), chronicled continued sex abuse, lack of medical care, and retaliation being experienced by former Dublin alums spread throughout the BOP system that began even as they were moved from Dublin in an evacuation under the nose of the District Court that made Saigon in April 1975 look orderly.

Still’s authority to assess BOP care came as part of a 2023 class action lawsuit and subsequent consent decree filed on behalf of about 600 incarcerated women at FCI Dublin, where 10 correctional officers have now been charged with sex crimes; seven of them so far have been found guilty, convicted and sentenced to prison themselves.

There are 305 women in the lawsuit class who are still incarcerated in 15 BOP prisons across the country.

The report’s findings include, for example:

Unprofessional and retaliatory behavior has also been reported on the part of medical providers, nurses, and emergency medical technicians. Providers have been reported to tell Class Members they should feel lucky they are getting care since they are illegal aliens or criminals. Shockingly, it is alleged that providers have also told Class Members that they should not expect special care because they are from “Dublin” and that no amount of “whining to lawyers” will get them care more expeditiously. Lastly, it is not clear that front line providers have retained professional independence and as a result, there appear to be instances when facility protocols or directive outweigh clinical professional judgement.

Meanwhile, the hits surrounding the FCI Dublin “rape club” just keep on coming. On June 26, former BOP employees Jeffrey Wilson and Lawrence Gacad became the ninth and tenth FCI Dublin employees to be charged, charged in the sexual abuse scandel that led to Dublin’s closure in 2024.

KTVU, Sex assault, retaliation complaints still persist across U.S. prisons, special master finds in 1st report (July 2, 2025)

Public Monthly Status Report For Rating Period March 31, 2025 – April 30, 2025, California Coalition for Women Prisoners v FBOP Consent Decree, Case No 4:23-cv-04155  (ND Cal, released June 30, 2025)

Thomas L. Root

Making Them Pay – Update for December 19, 2024

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We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.

BOP TO PAY 115 MEGABUCKS TO 103 FCI DUBLIN VICTIMS

Misny241218The Federal Bureau of Prisons continues to try to bring the horrific saga of the FCI Dublin “Rape Club” to an end by agreeing to settle dozens of lawsuits brought by women prisoners who were victimized by sexual abuse – including rape – by BOP staff at the now-permanently closed women’s prison.

The settlement, announced Tuesday, will apportion $115 million among 103 victims, paying an average of $1.1 million to each victim. Along with a proposed consent decree in a separate class action addressing the abuse and retaliation against those who spoke up about it, announced December 6, the settlement will close most (but not all) of the pending FCI Dublin litigation (lawsuits which up to now have been vigorously defended by a government unwilling to shoulder responsibility for the culture at the former women’s facility)

“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,” former prisoner Aimee Chavira said in a statement released by her attorneys. “And money will not stop prison officials from continuing to abuse incarcerated people. I am speaking out to demand justice for all survivors of prison abuse, and to show other survivors that we can stand up against this culture of abuse together. Our government can and must take real action to make sure that no one else suffers like we did at FCI Dublin.”

The BOP, after years of fighting prisoner claims of sexual abuse and retaliation at the Dublin prison – located 25 miles southeast of San Francisco Bay – said Tuesday that it

strongly condemns all forms of sexually abusive behavior and takes its duty seriously to protect the individuals in our custody as well as maintain the safety of our employees and community… The FBOP is dedicated to appropriately addressing the consequences of sexually abusive behavior at FCI Dublin [and] remains committed to rooting out criminal behavior and holding accountable those who violate their oath of office.

Uh-huh.  Message: The BOP cares about its Adults In Custody. See here and here if you don’t believe me. Or just ask “Dirty Dick.”

femalesexprisoner241219Since 2021, at least eight FCI Dublin employees have been charged with sexually abusing inmates. Five pleaded guilty. Two were convicted at trial. Another case is pending. Virtually all FCI Dublin inmates were transferred to other institutions in an unannounced “fire drill” movement last April that generated multiple reports of retaliation and cruelty by BOP employees. Some former FCI Dublin inmates report that they have been the victims of similar misconduct at other institutions, according to the Associated Press.

The Dublin scandal was among the catalysts for passage of the Federal Prison Oversight Act last July, which establishes an independent ombudsman to field and investigate complaints by prisoners, their families, and staff about misconduct and deficiencies. It also requires that the Dept of Justice inspector general conduct regular inspections of all 122 federal prison facilities, issue recommendations to address deficiencies and assign each facility a risk score. Higher-risk facilities would receive more frequent inspections.

Associated Press, US to pay nearly $116M to settle lawsuits over rampant sexual abuse at California women’s prison (December 17, 2024)

Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld, Over 100 Survivors of Staff Sexual Violence at FCI Dublin Reach Historic $115M Settlement With Bureau of Prisons (December 18, 2024)

Federal Prison Oversight Act, Pub.L. 118-71 (July 25, 2024)

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– Thomas L. Root

Some Short Stuff – Update for August 2, 2024

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We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.

Today, some short reports for easy beach reading…

shorts240802

SUMMERTIME SHORTS

retro160110Sentencing Commission Retroactivity Decision, Priorities For Next Year Set For Aug 8: At a scheduled Aug 8 meeting, the US Sentencing Commission will decide whether four proposed Guidelines changes to become effective in November will be retroactive.

The four changes for which retroactivity is on the table are

• the acquitted conduct amendment;

• a change to § 2K2.1(b)(4)(B)(i) to provide that the 4-level enhancement gun serial number obliteration applies only if the serial number has been modified such the original number is “is rendered illegible or unrecognizable to the unaided eye;” and

• a change to Commentary in § 2K2.4 to permit grouping of an 18 USC § 922(g) gun count with a 21 USC § 841 drug trafficking count where the defendant has a separate 18 USC § 924(c) gun conviction based on drug trafficking.

• a change in § 2D1.1(a) to tie mandatory and high base offense levels to statutory maximum sentences instead of more complex factors that are not necessarily consistent with 21 USC  § 841(b)(1)(A) or (B).

The Commission will also adopt priorities for the coming year.

US Sentencing Commission, Public Meeting, Thursday, August 8, 2024

‘Dirty Dick’s’ Woes Continue: A superseding indictment handed up last week accused former Bureau of Prisons correctional officer Darrell Wayne “Dirty Dick” Smith of sexually abusing more inmates at FCI Dublin.

Last Thursday, a federal grand jury charged Smith with 15 counts of sexual abuse, including a civil rights violation, against five women in their cells and a laundry facility between 2016 and 2021.. Smith, known to detainees as “Dirty Dick,” had previously been indicted of sexually abusing three female inmates.

He is accused by inmates of actively roaming the prison, seeking out victims, and locking women in their cells until they exposed themselves to him.

L.A. Times, Guard at ‘rape club’ prison faces new charges of sexually abusing inmates (July 26, 2024)

DOJ Sides With Prisoners In SCOTUS First Step Case: The Supreme Court has had to appoint private lawyers to argue the other side of a pending case, Hewett v. United States, asking whether the First Step Act requires a resentencing to apply changes in mandatory minimums favorable to defendants.

goodlawyer240802The Dept of Justice has told the high court that “the government agrees that the best reading of Section 403(b) is that Section 403’s amended statutory penalties apply at any sentencing that takes place after the Act’s effective date, including a resentencing.”

In cases where the government agrees with the petitioner, the Supreme Court appoints a lawyer to argue the other side so that the Court’ decision is based on a thorough examination of the issue. In Erlinger v. United States, decided last month, DOJ agreed with the petitioners that juries should decide whether Armed Career Criminal Act predicate crimes occurred on separate occasions, requiring SCOTUS to appoint counsel to argue against the petitioner. The Court appointed a private attorney to argue the side abandoned by the government.

For Hewitt, the Court appointed Michael H. McGinley, Global Co-chair of the Securities and Complex Litigation practice group for mega law firm Dechert LLP, to argue that First Step does not let defendants benefit from more liberal sentencing terms if their original sentence was imposed before the law passed.

Supreme Court, Order (July 26, 2024)


hardtime240801‘Hard’ Federal Time Converts Another One: Peter Navarro, who completed a 4-month federal sentence for contempt of Congress two weeks ago just in time to be whisked to Milwaukee to address the Republican National Convention, said last week that federal law imposes harsher sentences than necessary for drug offenses.

“The standard that we want to have when we think about the criminal justice system, which I’ve been inside of now and I understand this better, there are bad people doing bad things, but there’s good people doing bad things as well,” Navarro said in a TV interview.

Navarro said that the longer people are in prison, the higher the chance that they will commit more crimes because they have “fewer skills” and “get more angry.”

The Trump advisor also said the costs of housing inmates costs about $60,000 a year per inmate, but that placing people on house arrest or in halfway homes reduces the costs by roughly half.

Just the News, Navarro urges U.S. to be ‘smart’ on crime, not ‘soft’ on crime following prison sentence (July 23, 2024)

– Thomas L. Root