Former Guard at California Women’s Prison Found Guilty of 59 Counts of Sexual Abuse

A former correctional officer at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, California’s largest women’s prison, was found guilty of 59 felony counts of sexual abuse in Madera County Superior Court on Tuesday.

Gregory Rodriguez, who worked for the California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, was convicted of rape, rape under color of authority, oral copulation, sexual penetration and sodomy, acts perpetrated on nine women. He was also convicted of five misdemeanor counts of sexual battery, raising the total of guilty verdicts to 64.

The case received widespread attention after the launch of a federal investigation into abuse allegations inside the state’s prisons. Rodriguez was charged with 97 counts in one of California’s most explosive prison abuse scandals.

CDCR has been plagued by misconduct for years. In December, the Bureau of Prisons permanently shut down the troubled East Bay federal women’s prison FCI Dublin following years of sexual abuse by prison workers.

Rodriguez, 56, was present as the guilty verdicts were read. The four-month trial included testimony from 13 current- and formerly incarcerated women who were targeted and abused by Rodriguez. He pleaded not guilty.

While relieved that Rodriguez, a 27-year veteran of California’s prison system, would be held accountable, survivors and advocates expressed mixed emotions about the trial. Amika Mota, executive director of Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition, a nonprofit that advocates for incarcerated women and trans people, noted a discrepancy in how some women were treated during their testimonies.

She wondered why some survivors were believed and not others.

“We are not letting go of the truths that were told by those survivors, even if there was a not guilty verdict,” Mota said. “We believe them. We listen to them. We support them. And we are committed to exposing other officers that are inside currently harming folks.”

Rodriguez worked at the CCWF from 2010-2022. Reports of Rodriguez abusing incarcerated women were first reported in 2014, according to a 2023 investigation by The Guardian. Instead of reprimanding Rodriguez, the prison punished his victims.

According to The Guardian, Rodriguez went on to commit dozens more assaults until CDCR began an investigation in July 2022. Rodriguez retired a month later after CDCR approached him about the investigation. CDCR turned the case over to the Madera County District Attorney.

In December 2022, survivors began to file civil lawsuits against Rodriguez. In one filed by six female incarcerees, Rodriguez allegedly lured them into a parole board hearing room where there were no cameras before sexually assaulting them, the Guardian reported. The lawsuit was settled in October 2023 for $3.7 million.

There have been rampant allegations of abuse by prison officials at facilities in California. In January 2023, former CCWF Warden Mike Pallares was moved to another prison after being implicated in sexual harassment and abuse cases.

Survivors who testified against Rodriguez said they were put through a grueling process.

“I had to tell my story in detail while facing my abuser,” one anonymous witness said in a statement shared by the California Coalition for Women Prisoners. “It was awful and humiliating. His attorney tried to paint us as liars despite all kinds of evidence against him.”

Rodriguez’s misconduct appears to extend beyond the allegations outlined by CDCR’s investigators. CDCR identified more than 22 women who said Rodriguez victimized them. Advocates believe there are more, as some victims may not have come forward because they feared retaliation.

In September 2024, the Department of Justice opened a civil rights investigation at CCWF — directly referencing the charges against Rodriguez — and at the California Institution for Women in Chino. The ongoing investigation is evaluating whether the state protects incarcerated residents from sexual abuse by correctional employees.

Advocates interviewed by KQED recognized the importance of the Rodriguez verdict, but they emphasized that there were many more perpetrators flying under the radar.

“We don’t want one individual facing these convictions to draw attention away from the systemic crisis,” said Colby Lenz of the California Coalition for Women Prisoners. “We will continue to push for systemic change and to hold the system accountable for permitting and often enabling this kind of abuse.”

“This is not a one-officer problem,” said another survivor, who testified against Rodriguez and asked not to be identified by KQED. “From my experience, Rodriguez is one bad apple on a tree that’s rotten to its core.”

CDCR said that the verdict was validation of the agency’s decision to hand the case to the Madera County District Attorney.

“The department resolutely condemns any staff member — especially a peace officer who is entrusted to enforce the law — who violates their oath and shatters public trust,” Terri Hardy, a CDCR press secretary, said in an email.

Rodriguez faces 75 years in prison at his sentencing, according to the Madera County District Attorney’s office.

KQED’s Madi Bolaños contributed to this report.