US Bureau of Prisons pays ‘historic’ $115m to survivors of staff sexual abuse | US prisons

The US Bureau of Prisons (BoP) has agreed to pay $115m to more than 100 survivors of a major sexual abuse scandal, a historic settlement of a class-action lawsuit that exposed widespread misconduct of officers at a federal prison.

The payout settles 103 claims of sexual abuse and retaliation for reporting misconduct by people who were incarcerated at Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Dublin, a troubled women’s institution located in California. Staff harassment and assault of those in custody at FCI Dublin, east of Oakland, was pervasive and widely documented, and the facility was known internally as the “rape club”.

Victims who came forward to report the abuse have been fighting for years for protections and accountability. Seven former Dublin employees, including the warden who ran the prison and the chaplain, have been criminally convicted of sexual crimes, and more than 20 other employees were placed on leave and under investigation. The bureau announced the permanent closure of Dublin earlier this month, and former residents have been transferred to other federal prisons across the country.

The settlement appears to be the largest single payout in BoP history, according to lawyers for the plaintiffs. The agreement is a major victory for advocates fighting misconduct in women’s prisons, who have documented how sexual abuse is a systemic problem across the US prison system. Staff have sexually abused incarcerated residents in at least two-thirds of federal women’s prisons over the last decade, with some women abused for months and years, a US Senate inquiry found in 2022.

The class-action settlement also includes a proposed consent decree, negotiated by the BoP, current and formerly incarcerated survivors and the California Coalition for Women Prisoners, an advocacy group. The agreement covers nearly 500 class members who are former Dublin residents now incarcerated in other prisons.

The consent decree stipulates that the the bureau will be subject to continued outside monitoring and will issue regular public reports on continuing abuse and retaliation; give class members access to community-based counselors; limit the use of solitary confinement; and release eligible plaintiffs to home confinement and community programs “as soon as practicable”.

Survivors of the Dublin scandal shipped to other prisons have reported continued concerns about retaliation and said they have struggled to access trauma recovery services while still housed in the Bureau of Prisons system. Advocates say some of the victims were targeted because they were not US citizens and that they face ongoing deportation risks. Imprisoned survivors have been fighting for compassionate release, clemency grants from Joe Biden and immigration relief.

Aimee Chavira, who was formerly incarcerated at Dublin and spoke out about the abuse she endured, has since been released and is part of the settlement.

“We were sentenced to prison, we were not sentenced to be assaulted and abused,” Chavira said in a statement on Tuesday. “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. And money will not stop prison officials from continuing to abuse incarcerated people.”

Susan Beaty, senior attorney with the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice, and co-counsel in the class-action suit, added: “We’re hopeful that these funds will provide survivors some stability and resources to heal and rebuild their lives. I’m very aware that there is no amount of money that could heal the wounds people suffered at Dublin.”

Randilee Giamusso, a BoP spokesperson, said in an email that a “third-party neutral process” was used to allocate the funds among the plaintiffs.

“The [BoP] is dedicated to appropriately addressing the consequences of sexually abusive behavior at FCI Dublin. The [BoP] remains committed to rooting out unlawful behavior and holding accountable those who violate their oath of office,” she said.