Skip to main content

House Dems demand prison rape audit at Calif. federal lockup

April 8, 2022

Several House Democrats are demanding the federal Bureau of Prisons make public an audit that examines reports of sexual assault at a federal women's prison in California where inmates say they've been subjected to rampant sexual abuse that has led to the arrests of four employees, including the former warden.

The eight legislators, including members of the House Judiciary and oversight committees and the Democratic Women's Caucus, wrote to prisons Director Michael Carvajal that they want him to provide a copy of the Prison Rape Elimination Act audit conducted at the federal correctional institution in Dublin, California, by the end of the month.

The group — Reps. Jackie Speier, Karen Bass and Eric Swalwell, all of California, along with Texas Reps. Veronica Escobar, Sylvia Garcia and Sheila Jackson Lee and Florida Reps. Brenda Lawrence and Lois Frankel — also wrote to Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz on Thursday, asking his office to conduct an inspection at Dublin.

The legislators want Horowitz to examine the facility's compliance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act, commonly known as PREA, and to investigate "flawed reporting and investigation procedures regarding complaints of sexual violence and retaliation." They also ask the inspector general to look at retaliation against staff members and inmates who filed complaints, the prison's staffing levels and whether there's adequate coverage with surveillance cameras.