By Crescenzo Vellucci
The Vanguard Sacramento Bureau
DUBLIN, CA – Scandals continue to rock the federal women’s prison here when the U.S. Dept. of Justice announced this week that a federal jury has convicted a federal correctional officer of five counts of “sexually abusive conduct” against two female incarcerated at FCI Dublin here.
Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz issued a statement promising to root out misdeeds by correctional officers at the Dublin prison, charging the federal investigation is “ongoing.”
So far, the probe has, Horowitz said, netted the prison warden and prison chaplain and two others in a web of sexual misconduct.
The DOJ, in a statement, said John Bellhouse, 40, was initially charged with sexual abuse of an inmate on Feb. 17, 2022, and a federal grand jury then indicted Bellhouse in September of 2022 with two counts of sexual abuse and three counts of abusive sexual contact at the prison against two women from December 2019 to December 2020.
Bellhouse faces 36 years in prison. His sentencing hearing is Aug. 30. He is out of custody until then, DOJ said.
“Bellhouse violated vulnerable women under his custody and care, and a jury held him accountable for these despicable acts. Four other FCI Dublin employees, including the former Warden and Chaplain, have been convicted of sexually abusing inmates. Our investigation of sexual abuse at FCI Dublin remains ongoing, and we will continue to aggressively pursue justice for victims of sexual abuse at the hands of BOP employees,” said Horowitz.
The jury Monday, before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, found the accused guilty on all counts late Monday.
“Correctional Officer Bellhouse committed an egregious breach of trust by using the cover of the BOP facility’s Safety Office to sexually abuse individuals in his custody,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco.
Monaco added, “This guilty verdict is yet another warning that any Bureau employee who abuses their authority will be held accountable. The Department of Justice is committed to rooting out sexual assault within the BOP and continuing to prioritize cases involving sexual abuse of individuals in BOP custody.”
“The heinous crimes in this case destroyed the sense of safety and security every human being is entitled to,” said FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate, noting, “While he was a federal corrections officer, the defendant sexually abused two victims in his care over the course of a year, an unimaginable violation of the most basic human rights.
Abbate added, “Today’s conviction demonstrates that the FBI remains unyielding in our protection of all people no matter where the crime occurs or who commits it.”
“As an officer in a federal correctional facility, Bellhouse had an obligation to ensure the safety of all the persons serving their sentences,” said U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey for the Northern District of California, adding, “Instead, Bellhouse used the power entrusted to him to serve his own corrupt purposes. The sexual abuse of inmates will not be tolerated, and Bellhouse will now face the consequences for committing his despicable crimes.”
The DOJ said Bellhouse was a correctional officer at the Federal Correctional Institute in Dublin, an all-female low security federal correctional institution.
“Trial evidence showed that Bellhouse sexually abused and committed abusive sexual contact against a victim beginning December 2019 through October 2020. The victim was incarcerated and serving a prison sentence at FCI Dublin under Bellhouse’s custodial, supervisory, and disciplinary authority,” the DOJ said.
“The trial evidence demonstrated Bellhouse engaged in oral sex with the victim in the prison Safety Warehouse and Safety Office and that Bellhouse touched the victim’s vagina and breasts in the prison Safety Office. The trial evidence also demonstrated Bellhouse committed abusive sexual contact against a second victim between October and December of 2020,” the prosecution said.
The DOJ said Bellhouse was convicted of two counts of sexual abuse of a ward and three counts of abusive sexual conduct. The DOJ said each count of sexual abuse carries a maximum term of 15 years in prison. Each count of abusive sexual conduct carries a maximum term of two years in prison. 
