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The Federal Correctional Institution is shown in Dublin, Calif., July 20, 2006. The Justice Department says it is gravely concerned about allegations that a high-ranking federal prison official entrusted to end sexual abuse and cover-ups at a women's prison may have taken steps to suppress a recent complaint about staff misconduct. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)

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'Abhorrent': Prison boss vexes DOJ with alleged intimidation
By MICHAEL BALSAMO AND MICHAEL R. SISAK - Associated Press
Thu,03/03/22-11:33PM , 332 Reads
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department says it is gravely concerned about allegations that a high-ranking federal prison official entrusted to end sexual abuse and cover-ups at a women’s prison known as the “rape club” may have taken steps to suppress a recent complaint about staff misconduct.
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Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., Chair of the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill, Sept. 16, 2020, in Washington. Federal prison employees say they're being bullied and threatened for raising concerns about serious misconduct and claim it's indicative of widespread problems in the Bureau of Prisons. It comes as the bureau faces increased scrutiny over its latest scandal: An Associated Press investigation uncovered a toxic culture that enabled sexual abuse at a federal women’s prison in California. Four employees, including a former warden, have been charged with federal crimes. Speier, who visited Dublin last week after reading AP's investigation, says she’s taking a larger congressional contingent to inspect the prison after the acting warden, Hinkle, prevented her from speaking one-on-one with inmates and staff. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

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Whistleblowers say they're bullied for exposing prison abuse
By MICHAEL BALSAMO AND MICHAEL R. SISAK - Associated Press
Thu,02/24/22-12:15PM , 286 Reads
WASHINGTON (AP) — As the federal Bureau of Prisons faces increased scrutiny over its latest scandal — allegations staff and even a warden sexually abused inmates at a women’s prison known as the “rape club” — people striving to hold it accountable say they’re being attacked for speaking up.
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Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., takes a question from a reporter during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 28, 2021. The U.S. Senate is launching a bipartisan working group of lawmakers to scrutinize conditions within the federal Bureau of Prisons in the wake of Associated Press reporting that uncovered widespread corruption and abuse in federal prisons across the U.S. The working group is led by Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat from Georgia and Sen. Mike Braun, an Indiana Republican. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

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Senate launches group to examine embattled US prison system
By MICHAEL BALSAMO AND MICHAEL R. SISAK - Associated Press
Thu,02/17/22-7:07AM , 202 Reads
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Senate is launching a bipartisan working group of lawmakers to scrutinize conditions within the Bureau of Prisons following reporting by The Associated Press that uncovered widespread corruption and abuse in federal prisons.
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The Federal Correctional Institution is shown in Dublin, Calif., July 20, 2006. An Associated Press investigation has uncovered a permissive and toxic culture at at FCI Dublin, a Northern California federal prison for women. The prison enabled years of sexual misconduct by predatory employees and cover-ups that kept the accusations out of the public eye. The AP obtained internal Bureau of Prisons documents, statements and recordings from inmates, interviewed current and former prison employees and reviewed thousands of pages of court records. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)

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AP investigation: Women's prison fostered culture of abuse
By MICHAEL BALSAMO AND MICHAEL R. SISAK - Associated Press
Sun,02/06/22-8:04AM , 188 Reads
WASHINGTON (AP) — Inside one of the only federal women’s prisons in the United States, inmates say they have been subjected to rampant sexual abuse by correctional officers and even the warden, and were often threatened or punished when they tried to speak up.
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