"FCI Dublin has garnered a reputation as a facility where staff commit widespread sexual assaults with impunity and there exists a pervasive culture of abuse," the letter states. "This is a situation that should never happen. Incarcerated individuals should be able to expect to serve out their sentences without fear of violence, abuse, or reprisals, and there should be adequate federal safeguards in place to ensure that."

Representatives Scott and DeSaulnier urged Attorney General Garland to fully enforce the Prison Rape Elimination Act, which Congressman Scott sponsored in 2003.

"The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) was enacted to end the epidemic of prisoner rape in the United States," the letter continues."With PREA standards being implemented as intended, no prison should be able to garner a reputation as a site of rampant sexual abuse. However, PREA cannot be the only protection in place for prisoners. Ensuring that every BOP facility fully implements and consistently complies with the national PREA standards is a critical measure, but it is only a starting point. Nor can we rely on a passing PREA audit every three years to ensure that people in custody are free from sexual abuse by staff."

The letter urges the Department of Justice to provide critical support to victims of sexual abuse at FCI Dublin.

"The Department of Justice must do more to provide support to the incarcerated women who experienced, witnessed, and were otherwise harmed by the rampant sexual abuse at FCI Dublin," the letter reads. "At a minimum, DOJ must provide trauma-informed emotional support services, from providers external to BOP, for the women and staff who lived and worked at FCI Dublin while the abuses were occurring. The Department must provide support services that are trauma-informed, with organizations and individuals with specific expertise in supporting survivors of sexual abuse in detention. This is of immediate concern for the victims at FCI Dublin.

Full text of the letter can be found HEREand below.

The Honorable Merrick B. Garland

Attorney General

U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001

Dear Attorney General Garland,

The recent and ongoing media reports of the severe pattern of staff sexual abuse of women in custody at Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Dublin are deeply disturbing. FCI Dublin has garnered a reputation as a facility where staff commit widespread sexual assaults with impunity and there exists a pervasive culture of abuse. This is a situation that should never happen. Incarcerated individuals should be able to expect to serve out their sentences without fear of violence, abuse, or reprisals, and there should be adequate federal safeguards in place to ensure that.

I am troubled by the recent announcement that FCI Dublin will be closing and inmates are already in the process of being transferred to other facilities. The way that this sudden closure has been implemented has reportedly left the women of FCI Dublin unable to communicate with their care providers and families about where they are going, or appeal their transfer. Under order from Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) must perform medical evaluations and a review of those eligible for release before moving an inmate from FCI Dublin^[1]. This process has not been followed. Medically vulnerable inmates, those who are victims of sexual assault at the facility, and those with pending compassionate release requests have been transferred and put on buses and planes to locations hundreds or thousands of miles away with allegedly limited access to basic amenities like heat, food, and water.

The closing of the facility has also triggered a wide dispersal of the staff as they seek new employment. Both incarcerated people and staff are being transferred away from Dublin with almost no notice, no opportunity to prepare, and no opportunity to debrief or receive support. This is particularly concerning in its implications on the ability of the Special Master Wendy Still to complete her investigation into the abuses perpetrated at FCI Dublin. Special Master Still requires full access to identify and speak to all victims, witnesses, and perpetrators in these matters in order to properly deliver justice. Without the ability of a proper staff review to be held, potential abusers are now simply returning back into the system with no accountability.

The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) was enacted to end the epidemic of prisoner rape in the United States. With PREA standards being implemented as intended, no prison should be able to garner a reputation as a site of rampant sexual abuse. However, PREA cannot be the only protection in place for prisoners. Ensuring that every BOP facility fully implements and consistently complies with the national PREA standards is a critical measure, but it is only a starting point.

Nor can we rely on a passing PREA audit every three years to ensure that people in custody are free from sexual abuse by staff. A DOJ-certified PREA auditor conducted the on-site phase of FCI Dublin's most recent PREA audit from September 21-23, 2021 to assess PREA implementation for the preceding 12 months.^[2] On September 24, 2021, just one day after the PREA auditor concluded the site visit, the warden of FCI Dublin was charged with sexual abuse of an inmate.^[3] Trial evidence subsequently established that the warden had abused three incarcerated women from December 2019 until July 2021. The warden was the first of eight BOP staff to be convicted of sexually abusing women at FCI Dublin during 2019-2021^[4]. Nonetheless, the final PREA audit report gave FCI Dublin a perfect score, concluding that FCI Dublin had met the requirements of all 45 PREA standards.

PREA audits are not designed to assess facility or agency culture. At best, PREA audits help ensure that the proper systems are in place to provide a basis to prevent, detect and respond to sexual abuse. At worst, passing PREA audits can be used by agencies such as BOP to claim that they are doing everything required. And when evidence conclusively proves, beyond a reasonable doubt, that that is simply not true, we must do more.

In 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) published the "Report and Recommendations Concerning the Department of Justice's Response to Sexual Misconduct by Employees of the Federal Bureau of Prisons." The working group behind this report was tasked with providing recommendations to improve the Bureau of Prison's response to sexual misconduct perpetrated by staff and within BOP facilities. A number of recommendations related to PREA were included in the report, including the direction that guidance be issued to staff reiterating that all allegations of misconduct must receive individualized and equitable treatment; that BOP explore already existing PREA-related resources; that BOP ensure compliance with PREA standards with regard to policies and practices on restrictive housing; and that BOP approach investigations consistently with PREA.

The Department of Justice must do more to provide support to the incarcerated women who experienced, witnessed, and were otherwise harmed by the rampant sexual abuse at FCI Dublin. At a minimum, DOJ must provide trauma-informed emotional support services, from providers external to BOP, for the women and staff who lived and worked at FCI Dublin while the abuses were occurring. The Department must provide support services that are trauma-informed, with organizations and individuals with specific expertise in supporting survivors of sexual abuse in detention. This is of immediate concern for the victims at FCI Dublin.

The BOP, in their statement about closing Dublin, acknowledged that they could not keep people safe there. However, closing FCI Dublin without getting to the truth of how staff were able to get away with sexually abusing incarcerated people for so long will not stop sexual abuse in BOP facilities. Indeed, transferring FCI Dublin staff before the Special Master is able to do her job raises the possibility that staff who may have covered up or even committed sexual abuse themselves will simply be able to victimize other people at different BOP facilities. In addition, transferring the people who have been living at FCI Dublin to other facilities will not guarantee their safety - although it will disrupt their access to sexual abuse counseling services and support that they currently receive from community-based advocates. We urge the BOP to:

• Abide by Judge Gonzalez Rogers' order to halt all transfers until each person can be evaluated for potential release and medically cleared;
• Allow the Special Master and her team to continue their work and to develop meaningful recommendations for the BOP and issue a public report on their findings;
• Review every possible avenue to avoid further traumatizing the people who have been living in Dublin, and evaluate each person for: compassionate release, clemency, release to home confinement, release to community confinement;
• Begin an inquiry into Director Peters' conduct, including when the decision to close Dublin was actually made, what planning was done, how the BOP plans to ensure that the former Dublin residents get the care they need and deserve, and how staff transfers will be handled to ensure that staff who were not complicit are supported and so that staff who were either abusive or complicit are held accountable.

I respectfully request prompt responses from the Department on the following queries:

1. How is the Department of Justice ensuring that victims at FCI Dublin and beyond have access to external victim services including counseling?
2. How has the Department of Justice implemented the PREA-related recommendations from their 2022 working group report?
3. How does the Department of Justice center trauma and gender-informed support and techniques for inmates and staff?
4. How will the Department of Justice ensure compliance with Judge Gonzalez Rogers' orders regarding FCI Dublin's operation?
5. How will the Department of Justice ensure that the Special Master's investigation will not be impeded in any way?
6. How does the Department of Justice plan to prioritize the release of eligible prisoners in FCI Dublin through compassionate release, home confinement, etc.?

Sincerely,

Robert C. "Bobby" ScottMember of Congress

Mark DeSaulnierMember of Congress

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