After Mistrial in FCI Dublin Abuse Case, New Charges Leave Out One of the Accusers

After the sexual abuse trial of a former FCI Dublin guard ended in a mistrial last month, federal prosecutors are dropping one of the five accusers and her related charge from the case ahead of a new trial in the fall.

In a superseding indictment filed in federal court last week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California charged Darrell Wayne Smith with 14 counts of sexual misconduct and related crimes, excluding one count from the earlier indictment that saw the jury unable to come to a verdict on any of the charges.

Three indictments have now been filed in the case. The dropped charge was added in the second charging document, which incorporated additional accusations from the woman and another accuser.

It was one of seven for abusive sexual contact and stemmed from accusations by a woman who alleged that Smith locked her in her cell and forced her to show him her breasts. Although her first name was used in court, KQED does not identify survivors of sexual assault.

The woman played a key role for prosecutors in corroborating the story of another victim, who said Smith had isolated her and forced himself on her multiple times, but the defense also used her to drum up speculation about the validity of all of the accusations against Smith.

In their closing argument, Smith’s defense attorneys acknowledged that sexual abuse was an issue at FCI Dublin, which was shuttered last year following a sprawling FBI investigation that led to seven former officials’ convictions, but they said he was the victim of a scam. Attorneys said that the five women tried to use fabricated stories of abuse by Smith to earn early release and other benefits, like legal immigration status and settlement payouts.

“[The woman] was a driving force in this group of inmates,” defense attorney Naomi Chung said during her closing argument at trial. “[Two of the other victims] both consulted with [her] before reporting.”

The defense accused the women of coordinating their stories through a shared civil attorney, Jae Oh. Oh represented all three in a related civil class-action suit that was settled with over 100 women in December, awarding them a total of $116 million for abuse they experienced at Dublin.

“[The woman’s] own story changed after hiring Ms. Oh,” Chung continued. “She added a new role for herself as a lookout for [another].”

Whether the defense’s accusations affected prosecutors’ decision to drop one of the charges is unknown. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Jay Paulson, who prosecuted the case, told KQED he could not comment. The U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed that the count had been removed but declined to comment further.

A new trial for Smith, who now lives in Florida, is set for Sept. 15. If he is convicted, he faces up to a life sentence.