DUBLIN, Calif. (KRON) — A women’s prison in the East Bay was raided by FBI agents on Monday. Agents seized computers and documents from Federal Correctional Institution Dublin, a lockup plagued by scandals.
The prison’s warden, associate warden, and captain were removed from the facility, sources said.
Within the past two years, the prison’s former warden, chaplain, and several guards were criminally convicted of crimes ranging from sex assaults to coverups. Several guards were emboldened to become “serial sexual predators” and form a “rape club,” attorneys representing inmates said.
But there are still more predatory guards remaining inside the prison who have never been prosecuted, according to lawsuits filed in court last week.
Emily Shapiro, a member of California Coalition for Women Prisoners, said the FBI raid may have been in response to a dozen civil lawsuits recently filed on behalf of inmates. Twelve inmates detailed traumatizing incidents claiming they were sexually abused by male guards.
“There’s so much retaliation for people that speak up. This horrific abuse is continuing to happen right here. The experiences of these 12 additional survivors speak to the fact that the abuse is systemic,” Shapiro said.
N.T. McKinney will replace the newly-ousted warden, Art Dulgov, on an interim basis effective immediately, Bureau of Prisons spokesperson Randilee Giamusso said.
Timeline of FCI Dublin prison scandal
2019 – An inmate alleged in a lawsuit that a maintenance foreman repeatedly raped her. When an internal prison investigator learned about the rapes, the woman said she was the one who got punished and placed in solitary confinement.
2020 – An inmate’s report that two prison guards were abusing inmates made its way up to the Justice Department’s inspector general and the FBI, triggering a criminal investigation.
July 2021 – Then-warden Ray Garcia’s office and vehicle were raided by the FBI. He was placed on administrative leave. Investigators found photographs on Garcia’s government-issued cellphone showing women naked in their cells. An inmate said Garcia forced her to strip.
February 2022 – The prison’s former chaplain, James Highhouse, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 84 months in prison. Behind his closed chapel office door, Highhouse forced inmates seeking his spiritual guidance to have sex with him, prosecutors said. “Highhouse ruined my life — he truly did,” one inmate said in a victim impact statement. “I have no trust in the Church and really, I don’t trust anyone because of what he did.”
February 2022 – Guard Ross Klinger pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one year of home confinement. “Klinger repeatedly engaged in sexual intercourse with three inmates who at the time were in detention and under his custodial, supervisory, and disciplinary authority,” the California Department of Justice wrote.
October 2022 – Guard Enrique Chavez pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 months in prison.
December 2022 – Ray Garcia was convicted on all counts and sentenced to serve 70 months in prison.
April 2023 – Guard Darrel “Dirty Dick” Smith was indicted for aggravated sex abuse. Court documents state that between 2019-2021, Smith sexually abused three women.
July 2023 – Two more guards, Nakie Nunley and Andrew Jones, pleaded guilty to sexually abusing multiple female inmates. Nunley, 48, of Fairfield, sexually abused five inmates.
December 2023 – Guard John Russell Bellhouse was sentenced to service five years in prison for sexually abusing two female inmates between 2019 and 2020. “The horrendous sexual abuse committed by convicted offender John Bellhouse is cruel and despicable,” said FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. “Bellhouse sexually abused inmates under his care and attempted to cover-up his crimes.”
March 2024 – More than a dozen FBI agents searched FCI Dublin and the warden, Art Dulgov, was ousted. Effective immediately, the new interim warden of the Federal Correctional Institute at Dublin will be Nancy T. McKinney, according to the Bureau of Prisons.
All sexual activity between a prison worker and an inmate is illegal.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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