Current:Home > MarketsThe Justice Department is investigating sexual abuse allegations at California women’s prisons-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
The Justice Department is investigating sexual abuse allegations at California women’s prisons
View Date:2024-12-23 20:18:47
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday that it has opened an investigation into allegations that correctional officers systematically sexually abused incarcerated women at two state-run California prisons.
Authorities found “significant justification” to open an investigation into the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla and the California Institution for Women in Chino, the DOJ said in a news release. Both are run by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
The corrections department said in a statement Wednesday that it does not tolerate sexual abuse in its prisons and that it welcomes the investigation.
The formal inquiry was sparked by hundreds of private lawsuits over the past two years alleging that women incarcerated at the Chowchilla prison were raped or otherwise sexually abused, according to the news release. A single lawsuit filed on behalf of 21 women incarcerated at the Chino facility alleges that from 2014 to 2020, correction officers there groped and forcibly raped the women, forced them to participate in oral copulation, and threatened them with violence, the release said.
“No woman incarcerated in a jail or prison should be subjected to sexual abuse by prison staff who are constitutionally bound to protect them,” said Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
Correctional staff are accused of seeking sexual favors in return for contraband and other privileges, according to the Justice Department. It added that some of the accused include prison officials who are responsible for handling sexual abuse complaints at the facilities.
Jeff Macomber, secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said in a statement that the department welcomes the independent investigation. “Sexual assault is a heinous violation of fundamental human dignity that is not tolerated — under any circumstances — within California’s state prison system,” he said.
In April, the federal Bureau of Prisons announced it will close a women’s prison in Northern California known as the “rape club” after an Associated Press investigation exposed rampant sexual abuse by correctional officers.
Chino is about 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of Los Angeles. Chowchilla is about 145 miles (233 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco.
veryGood! (5445)
Related
- The Surreal Life’s Kim Zolciak Fuels Dating Rumors With Costar Chet Hanks After Kroy Biermann Split
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword, But Daddy I Love Crosswords
- Escaped inmate convicted of murder captured in North Carolina hotel after dayslong manhunt
- Silk non-dairy milk recalled in Canada amid listeria outbreak: Deaths increased to three
- Why Kathy Bates Decided Against Reconstruction Surgery After Double Mastectomy for Breast Cancer
- Iowa proposes summer grocery boxes as alternative to direct cash payments for low-income families
- UNHCR to monitor implementation of Italy-Albania accord to ensure migrants’ asylum rights respected
- After Partnering With the State to Monitor Itself, a Pennsylvania Gas Company Declares Its Fracking Operations ‘Safe’
- US overdose deaths are down, giving experts hope for an enduring decline
- Family agrees to settle lawsuit against officer whose police dog killed an Alabama man
Ranking
- Hurricane forecasters on alert: November storm could head for Florida
- Alaska State Troopers beat, stunned and used dog in violent arrest of wrong man, charges say
- Amid Matthew Perry arrests, should doctors be blamed for overdose deaths?
- A woman who left a newborn in a box on the side of the road won’t be charged
- My Little Pony finally hits the Toy Hall of Fame, alongside Phase 10 and Transformers
- Notre Dame suspends men's swimming team over gambling violations, troubling misconduct
- The Daily Money: Inflation eased in July
- 'Ketamine Queen,' doctors, director: A look at the 5 charged in Matthew Perry's death
Recommendation
-
NFL power rankings Week 11: Steelers, Eagles enjoying stealthy rises
-
Why Jana Duggar Says It Was “Disheartening” Watching Her Siblings Getting Married First
-
Olympic Runner Noah Lyles Reveals He Grew Up in a “Super Strict” Cult
-
Virginia attorney general denounces ESG investments in state retirement fund
-
What Republicans are saying about Matt Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general
-
Federal subpoenas issued in probe of New York Mayor Eric Adams’ 2021 campaign
-
Shannen Doherty's Mom Rosa Speaks Out After Actress' Death
-
Rhode Island files lawsuit against 13 companies that worked on troubled Washington Bridge