This Monday, the Justice Department accused two former correctional staff of sexually abusing prisoners at the now-closed rape club, a jail in the Bay Area.
Jeffrey Wilson and Lawrence Gacad were the ninth and tenth people, respectively, to be accused by federal prosecutors for suspected wrongdoing at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin. These individuals ranged from guards to chaplains to the warden.
Prosecutors claim that Wilson and Gacad are involved in incidents that happened in 2022.
It’s unknown if each man has legal representation. Additionally, the pair’s court dates were not immediately accessible.
Prosecutors charged Wilson, 34, with five counts of sexually abusing an inmate. According to court filings, the alleged assault occurred in a medical room between March 14 and August 16, 2022.
California
In order to resolve claims of sexual abuse, the federal government consents to pay $116 million to 103 women who were detained at the Rape Club prison in California.
According to court filings, he was also accused of lying to federal officials when asked if he ever had intercourse with the female inmate or gave her contraband.
Gacad, 33, is accused of one count of engaging in abusive sexual contact with another prisoner from March 2022 to June 2022.
Wilson faces up to 15 years in jail and a $250,000 fine for each count of sexually abusing a ward, and up to eight years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the count of making false statements to a government body, if found guilty as charged.
Gacad could be fined up to $250,000 and imprisoned for up to two years.
The most recent accusations only serve to deepen the scandal that has surrounded the Dublin facility for years. Prosecutors claim that sexual assault there was so widespread that it was dubbed the “rape clubby” among inmates and staff.
According to documents obtained by the Associated Press, some prison guards sexually assaulted and raped their staff members; one employee even stated that he wished to impregnate his inmates. In 2022, Ray J. Garcia, the previous warden of the jail, was found guilty of sexually abusing women in prison, including forcing inmates to strip naked while he shot and stored pictures on his official cellphone.
Inmates reported experiencing severe levels of anxiety, PTSD, and living in constant fear while incarcerated.
California
Two-year protections will be granted to nearly 500 female prisoners who filed a case alleging sexual assault at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin.
In December, the federal government agreed to pay $116 million to over 100 women who said that FCI Dublin staff members had sexually assaulted them.
After being sued by eight prisoners who claimed they had experienced rampant sexual assault, medical negligence, and retaliation from prison guards, the Bureau of Prisons consented to a consent order that same month.
Inmates must be released to halfway houses on schedule, receive medical attention, apply early release credits, and have their maltreatment and retribution by staff closely monitored, according to the consent decree. It is applicable to about 500 members of the class who are still behind bars in over a dozen federal institutions.
James Highhouse, a former prison chaplain, and five correctional guards have all entered guilty pleas or been found guilty of abuse charges alongside Garcia.
With the exception of former correctional officer Ross Klinger, who was placed under home confinement for a year, all of them received sentences ranging from 20 months to eight years in jail.
Darrell Wayne Smith, another former correctional officer, was first charged with 12 charges of sexual abuse in 2023.A federal grand jury in 2024 lowered that to 15 counts. His trial is scheduled for September 5.
The Justice Department says the inquiry against FCI Dublin is still ongoing.
