What Happened at the Dublin Federal Women's Prison Last Week and What to Expect Next

U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers approved a request to appoint a special master to oversee FCI Dublin, a federal women’s prison that’s been embroiled in sexual misconduct allegations for years. Gonzalez Rogers’ order also certified a class-action lawsuit filed by women incarcerated at the East Bay prison and approved some requests for immediate changes at the facility. The special master will be the first in the Bureau of Prisons history.

The judge’s decision, handed down Friday, came less than a week after an FBI raid at the facility. The prison’s warden and three other top officials were abruptly replaced.

During Monday’s Forum episode on the raid, a woman incarcerated at the prison called into the show. She said the judge’s decision to appoint a special master “a godsend.”

Catch up fast: Gonzalez Rogers’ order granted, in part, a list of immediate changes requested by plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit, including that the prison submit to an audit of its policies on staff sexual abuse, implement changes based on the audit, submit to quarterly site visits and end the use of solitary confinement until it can be ensured that it isn’t being used as retaliation. Gonzalez Rogers called the prison “a dysfunctional mess.”

“The situation can no longer be tolerated. The facility is in dire need of immediate change,” she wrote in her order. “The court finds the Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) has proceeded sluggishly with intentional disregard of the inmates’ constitutional rights despite being fully apprised of the situation for years. The repeated installation of BOP leadership who fail to grasp and address the situation strains credulity. The court is compelled to intercede.”

The order denied requests to develop a process for the return of non-contraband items seized from cells during searches, the fixing of computer privacy screens and other changes related to access to legal counsel and reporting of staff misconduct.

Last week, hours after an FBI spokesperson confirmed the agency conducted a “court-authorized law enforcement activity” at the prison, government attorneys disclosed in a legal filing that the facility’s acting warden, an associate warden, the executive assistant/satellite camp administrator and the acting captain had all been replaced.

Who is running the prison now? Nancy T. McKinney was assigned as the interim warden, according to a BOP spokesperson. McKinney began working for the BOP in 1992. At Friday’s hearing, government attorneys disclosed the other officials on the new executive team: Greg Chaffey, acting executive assistant and satellite camp administrator; Charmaine Nash, associate warden, a position she has held since July 2023; and Joel Zaragoza, acting captain.

What you need to know: In her order, Gonzalez Rogers wrote that while she found the allegation that a sexualized environment persists at FCI Dublin today to be exaggerated, she does not believe the government’s assertion that the issue of sexual misconduct has been eradicated at the facility.

“The truth is somewhere in the middle — allegations of sexual misconduct have lingered, but to characterize it as pervasive goes too far,” the order reads. “However, because of its inability to promptly investigate the allegations that remain and the ongoing retaliation against incarcerated persons who report misconduct, BOP has lost the ability to manage with integrity and trust.”

What’s next? Choosing a special master. Attorneys for the government and the plaintiffs have until 5 p.m. March 25 to submit a list of five potential candidates. Two days later, attorneys will have the opportunity to strike three names from the opposing side’s list. Gonzalez Rogers will select the special master from the list of remaining names. The judge wrote that she plans to issue further orders “narrowly tailored to address ongoing retaliation.” The special master will assist the court with ensuring compliance with those orders, she wrote.

How we got here: This isn’t the first time the FBI has raided FCI Dublin. In July 2021, agents searched then-warden Ray Garcia’s residence, office and vehicle. He was later arrested and convicted of sexually abusing inmates and lying to a government official. Garcia is now serving a nearly six-year sentence in federal prison. Seven other former FCI Dublin officials, including a chaplain, have also been criminally charged.

The DOJ’s investigation of sexual abuse at FCI Dublin is ongoing, according to Gonzalez Rogers’ order.

What else is happening? This month, 12 people filed lawsuits alleging sexual abuse and retaliation by staff at FCI Dublin, bringing the total number of claims to 63. The lawsuits allege a wide range of sexual abuse, harassment and retaliation.

In January, incarcerated women testified at an evidentiary hearing that they had experienced retaliation from officers when they reported abuse. Some said they have avoided reporting various instances of misconduct, fearing repercussions. Members of former Warden Art Dulgov’s administration testified they had made it easier to report abuse.

Attorneys representing the BOP have argued that some issues raised by plaintiffs’ attorneys have already been fixed or are in the process of being fixed. “Bad actors have been removed, and conditions at FCI Dublin have improved significantly in recent years,” attorneys wrote in a November filing. “Under new leadership, previous depredations will not recur, and conditions and services will continue to improve.”

In February, Gonzalez Rogers made an unannounced nine-hour visit to the prison and spoke confidentially with at least 100 incarcerated women. In a subsequent emergency health and safety order, she wrote that some conditions at the prison were well below the required standard of care and ordered officials to fix showers, provide additional blankets and have licensed contractors inspect the facility for a natural gas leak, black mold and asbestos.

A woman currently incarcerated at FCI Dublin recalled the visit when she called into Forum, KQED’s daily talk show on Monday. KQED is only identifying her by her first name, Monae, because she expressed fear of retaliation for speaking out.

“The things that we’ve been through, the people that have been here for a very long time, we need help here,” Monae said. “And it’s like no one really sees us. And the judge that came through she actually was very compassionate, and she heard everything that we were saying and more. She’s seen the retaliation, she’s seen the lies and the coverups, and we appreciate her.”