WASHINGTON, DC – A federal judge has approved a Consent Decree aimed at addressing systemic sexual abuse, retaliation, and medical neglect at now closed FCI Dublin, and other Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facilities, ensuring protections for incarcerated individuals nationwide, California Coalition for Women Prisoners (CCWP) stated Tuesday.
The legal action was spawned by a sexual abuse scandal at FCI Dublin in the SF Bay Area that came to light in the last few years and ultimately involved the warden, chaplain and other staff—many are now either in prison or facing charges.
“For the first time in BOP history, a consent decree will provide ongoing court oversight across multiple federal women’s prisons,” said Susan Beaty, an attorney with California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice, who represents the plaintiffs.
Beaty emphasized that the abuses at FCI Dublin were not isolated incidents but part of a nationwide pattern of harm, CCWP stated.
The Consent Decree stems from California Coalition for Women Prisoners et al. v. United States Bureau of Prisons et al., a class-action lawsuit originally filed in August 2023. The court’s decision means that the agreement will take effect on March 31, 2025, and remain in place for two years across more than a dozen federal women’s prisons, CCWP noted.
Survivors and advocates, including members of the CCWP, submitted statements to the court ahead of the hearing.
According to CCWP, they wrote in its filing, “We continue to receive alarming reports of ongoing abuse, retaliation, and medical neglect against people transferred from Dublin, and we remain very worried about their safety and wellbeing,” urging the court to enforce monitoring protections.
At the start of the hearing, BOP requested additional time to renegotiate provisions related to transgender people’s access to undergarments and non-citizens’ access to halfway houses. The judge denied the request, stating BOP had already entered into a binding agreement and could not attempt to alter the terms after approval, CCWP noted.
Accordion to CCWP, the decree implements key protections for survivors, including:
- Independent monitoring with public reporting on staff abuse, retaliation, medical care, and early release practices.
- Confidential access to legal counsel and community-based support services.
- Limitations on solitary confinement (SHU) to prevent retaliatory placements, ensuring access to legal communication and disciplinary hearings.
- Restoration of early release credits lost due to transfers from FCI Dublin and expungement of retaliatory disciplinary write-ups.
- Fair housing and release policies, including placement in the lowest security facility possible, and access to halfway houses without immigration-based denial.
- A formal public acknowledgement from the BOP Director to survivors of staff sexual abuse at FCI Dublin.
With the decree now finalized, survivors and advocacy groups are focused on ensuring BOP upholds its obligations, they said.
“Today we packed the virtual courtroom to start a new chapter, which is enforcing our historic legal victory,” said Emily Shapiro, an organizer with CCWP, adding that this is only the beginning of the movement for accountability and justice, CCWP stated.
