Famed federal women's prison under investigation as 5th worker charged with sexual abuse of inmates

A fifth employee at a federal women's prison in California has been indicted on charges stemming from sexual abuse of an inmate. The high-profile Dublin prisonin Northern California, formerly home to well-known actors and one of the nation's few all-female federal prisons, has come under scrutiny in recent monthsfor alleged systemic abuse.

Enrique Chavez, 49, who worked as a cook supervisor, became the fifth Bureau of Prisons employee to be indicted at the facility since spring 2021. The prison's former warden, prison safety administrator and recycling technician were all indicted on similar charges last year, and its chaplain – whose office was sealed off by authorities since prior to the pandemic – was indicted earlier this year.

The charges against Chavez were unsealed Wednesday as members of Congress have urged more scrutiny and investigations into allegations of systemic sexual abuse of inmates by those in power at the prison. It also comes after an independent audit found the prison met all standards to deter inmate sexual abuse.

The Dublin prison has been under scrutiny by members of Congress who wrote a letter earlier this month to the Justice Department's Inspector General Michael Horowitz urging him to investigate the prison and retaliation against staff and inmates for filing complaints or helping in the investigation of complaints.

In a separate letter, the lawmakers asked the Bureau of Prisons Director Michael Carvajal to indicate measures needed to "address the safety of offenders from incidents of sexual violence while in custody."

The letters weresent by Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, as well as Democratic Women's Caucus co-chairs Rep. Jackie Speier, Rep. Brenda L. Lawrence, Rep. Lois Frankel, and vice-chairs Reps. Veronica Escobar and Sylvia R. Garcia.

An audit was conducted of the prison from Sept. 21 through Sept. 23, 2021, before most of the allegations of sexual abuse were public. The report of that audit was released Monday. It found that the prison met all 45 standards, but did not exceed any standards.