BOP agrees to court monitor, protections for inmates following FCI Dublin sexual abuse lawsuits
A legal settlement in the wake of rampant staff-on-inmate sexual abuse will force the federal Bureau of Prisons to open its doors to a court-appointed monitor and publicly acknowledge pervasive misconduct at its now-shuttered women’s prison in California.
The Bureau of Prisons and lawyers for women suing over abuse at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, filed a proposed consent decree on Friday that mandates increased transparency and key protections for victims, including pathways to early release and home confinement.
The agency’s director, Colette Peters, “will issue a formal, public acknowledgment to victims of staff sexual abuse at FCI Dublin” as part of the settlement.
The agreement, which will require a judge’s approval, comes after months of negotiations to resolve a class-action lawsuit filed last year that sought concrete changes to the Bureau of Prisons’ treatment of female inmates and its handling of abuse claims.
