DOJ says California prisons failed to protect women from sexual abuse
The U.S. Justice Department says it has reasonable cause to believe that California’s prison system has failed to protect female prisoners from sexual abuse and harassment by staff, violating their constitutional rights.
The findings concern the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and two women’s prisons: the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla and the California Institution for Women in Chino.
A Justice Department investigation found what it described as a longstanding pattern of staff sexual misconduct, inadequate safeguards, failures in confidential reporting, improper investigations and insufficient accountability.
The DOJ said California prison officials knew of repeated sexual assaults and harassment against female prisoners but failed to protect them.
The Justice Department said the facilities also failed to adequately implement federal prison rape prevention standards.
“Female prisoners have the constitutional right to be free from sexual assault and harassment by prison staff,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said. “This deliberate indifference to the suffering of female prisoners at the hands of prison staff is illegal.”
Federal officials have given California notice of the minimum changes required, including expanded camera coverage, confidential reporting channels, stronger investigative procedures, improved staff training and monitoring.
The department began its investigation in September 2024 under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, which allows the federal government to address patterns of constitutional-rights violations in state and local correctional facilities.
If California does not satisfactorily address the findings within 49 days, the attorney general may file a lawsuit.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
