Former director of women’s prison known as ‘rape club’ gets 70 months for sexual abuse
The former director of a federal prison for women in California so plagued by sexual abuse that it became known as the “rape club” was sentenced Wednesday to nearly six years in prison for sexually assaulting incarcerated women and forcing them to pose nude and for lying to the prisoner. FBI. as part of a cover-up.
When announcing the sentence of 70 months of Ray J Garcia, Federal District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers criticized the former director of the Federal Correctional Institution Dublin for what she called “ridiculous” lies on the witness stand and for perpetuating the prison’s culture of sexual abuse.
“You walked into a cesspool and you didn’t do anything about it. He just went along with the ride and enjoyed the cesspool,” Rogers said. “You should have done something about it.”
Garcia’s sentencing came three months after a federal jury in Oakland found him guilty of three counts of sex with an incarcerated person, four counts of abusive sexual contact and one count of lying to the FBI. Prosecutors had asked for a 15-year sentence. Garcia’s sister asked to be placed on electronic surveillance.
Garcia, 55, told the judge he was “embarrassed” as a “broken man” who failed to take responsibility for being “highly sexualized.”
“I did not show strength, discipline or character,” he said, according to KTVU-TV. “I’m sorry, more than sorry, for the women I’ve hurt.”
After waiving his right to appeal, Garcia is due to surrender on May 19.
Garcia retired as warden in disgrace after an FBI search turned up nude photos of inmates on his government-issued phone. He was subsequently accused of fondling and groping three incarcerated women in Dublin prison amid allegations that he had made them pose nude for photos.
Before sentencing, one of his victims described how Garcia made his life hell. “You are a predator and a pervert. You are a disgrace to the federal government,” she said.
Another told the judge that he treated her like a “sex toy.” “I can assure you that my sentence did not come with a clause to be sexually abused by prison staff,” he said.
Garcia is one of five prison employees accused of abusing female inmates at the East Bay facility in what has become one of the worst documented cases of widespread sexual abuse by federal prison staff for women. .
The jury heard evidence of how Garcia repeatedly sexually assaulted a woman in a prison bathroom and storage room, showed her pictures of his penis, and forced her to pose in a pornographic manner in a prison cell.
He also groped another inmate’s breasts inside his cell and made her touch his penis in the laundry room, prosecutors said.
Court documents say he grabbed the buttocks of a third victim, repeatedly kissed her and took photos of her during sex video chats from a San Diego rehab center controlled by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
An incarcerated person cannot legally consent to sexual activity with a prison worker.
Amid the abuse, Garcia was promoted from associate warden to warden, according to federal prosecutors. The Bureau of Prisons defended his promotion, saying that he was unaware of his behavior at the time.
Garcia was also accused of ordering female prisoners to strip for him while he made his rounds, though when confronted by the FBI, he denied any such accusations.
During Garcia’s trial, James Reilly, his attorney, argued that there was no surveillance video capturing the alleged sexual acts, noting that the accusers are convicted felons. He said Garcia took the photos the FBI found because he wanted to document that the women were violating prison policy by remaining nude.
Garcia committed the abuse while in charge of training staff and inmates on reporting sexual misconduct, as required by federal law. Prison Rape Elimination Act, according to prosecutors.
Several other Dublin prison workers have been accused of abusing inmates. Three have pleaded guilty, while another, James Theodore Highhouse, the former prison chaplain, is appealing his seven-year sentence as excessive because it was more than double the punishment recommended in federal sentencing guidelines.
The prison, located about 21 miles east of Oakland, opened in 1974. In 2012 it became one of six women-only facilities in the federal prison system. Actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman served time there for their part in the college admissions bribery scandal.
Associated Press contributed to this report.