The Justice Department has been ordered to pay almost $116 million to more than 100 women who were abused at a Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, known as the 'rape club.' The settlement, approved on Tuesday, will average $1.1 million for each woman who sued the prison for mistreatment and staff-on-inmate sexual abuse.
Aimee Chavira, a former Dublin prisoner and a plaintiff in the lawsuit, expressed her sentiments, stating, 'We were sentenced to prison, we were not sentenced to be assaulted and abused.' She hopes that the settlement will aid survivors in their healing process, acknowledging that while money cannot undo the harm caused by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), it may provide some relief.
The prison's former warden, Ray Garcia, and seven other employees are currently serving prison sentences for sexually abusing inmates. Another correctional officer, Darrell Wayne Smith, is awaiting trial on 12 counts of sexual abuse. This settlement marks the largest ever paid to incarcerated women by the DOJ, according to Jessica Pride, one of the women's lawyers.
Pride emphasized that no amount of money can fully compensate for the trauma of sexual assault. The settlement amounts were determined based on interviews with the victims to assess the extent of their suffering and the frequency of abuse they endured. The California Coalition of Women Prisoners has filed a separate class-action lawsuit, potentially benefiting around 500 women who were housed at FCI Dublin.
The Bureau of Prisons closed the facility in April, with the closure becoming permanent last month. The case sheds light on the urgent need for reform within the prison system to prevent such atrocities from recurring in the future.
