On December 8, 2022, an Oakland jury found Ray Garcia, former warden of the Federal Correctional Institute at Dublin, guilty of eight counts of sexual abuse and lying to the FBI. Garcia, who will be sentenced in March, is the highest ranking federal prison official to have been convicted of such crimes.
According to a Mother Jones article about the case, “Garcia is among five correctional officers at FCI Dublin to face sex abuse charges in the last couple of years, amid widespread accusations of staff misconduct there. The accusations are so persistent that prisoners and officers now reportedly refer to the facility as ‘the rape club.’”
RBGG’s Jeff Bornstein was appointed by the court to represent three women who were victims or witnesses of the abuse. According to Bornstein, as reported by KTVU, “What a relief for these women. How awful it was for them. This is a bittersweet ending. Because they never should have had to go through this.” The RBGG team includes Bornstein, Kara Janssen, and Arielle Tolman.
For more information about the Garcia case and the continuing issues at the Dublin facility, see Former Dublin prison warden found guilty of sex abuse charges, KTVU, December 8, 2022, In rare trial, ex-warden of federal “Rape Club” prison convicted of sexual abuse, Mother Jones, December 7, 2022, and Advocates, employees say abuses at Dublin prison will continue without ‘real changes’, San Francisco Chronicle, December 10, 2022.