The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) says several California women’s prisons are violating the U.S. Constitution by not protecting female prisoners from sex abuse and harassment from staff.
The department is now pressuring California to make changes.
“California owes a legal and moral duty to safeguard prisoners in its custody,” Bill Essayli, First Assistant United States Attorney, said. “The State must confront the persistent failure of its own employees to prevent and address sexual abuse at these facilities.”
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The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation defended itself from the allegations in a statement to Straight Arrow.
“CDCR enforces a zero-tolerance policy as mandated by the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA),” Will Matthews, deputy press secretary for CDCR, said. “Our facilities are regularly audited by Department of Justice–certified PREA auditors who are trained by the federal government to evaluate compliance against federal standards.”
DOJ investigation
This investigation began in 2024 under the Biden administration’s Department of Justice.
Under President Donald Trump, it continued, with the department finding numerous alleged violations.
“It’s an issue where there is bipartisan support,” Jenny Huang, a civil rights lawyer who’s represented prisoners who’ve been sexually assaulted, told Straight Arrow.
According to the DOJ, investigators found a pattern of staff sexual misconduct, inadequate safeguards, reporting failures and more. The department found all these issues violated prisoners’ rights under the Eighth and 14th Amendments.
The Eighth Amendment protects against cruel and unusual punishment while the 14th Amendment guarantees equal protection under the law.
“Being a survivor of sexual harm while inside California state prisons and then becoming an advocate for those that are continuing to endure all sorts of institutional violence and harm, this is a big win for us,” Leesa Nomura, California Coalition for Women’s Prisoners statewide membership organizer, told Straight Arrow.
This is not a new issue in California’s women’s prisons. However, state prison leaders maintain they are following regulations. The state did meet all federal standards in the most recent audit.
But the new DOJ investigation found issues that are beyond PREA compliance.
What’s next?
The state has 49 days to address the DOJ’s concerns.
Among the requests are expanded camera coverage, enhanced confidential reporting channels, strengthened investigative protocols and more.
If the state does not comply, the federal government can bring litigation. That’s happened as recently as 2021 in New Jersey.
That enforcement comes under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), which allows the feds to sue state and local institutions over Constitutional violations.
“They have a tremendous amount of power,” Brenda V. Smith, professor emeritus of law at American University, told Straight Arrow.
Which means the DOJ and CDCR will likely sit down at the negotiating table to discuss the remedies, the actions and the timeline to avoid ending up in front of a judge. Advocates hope they’ll also get a seat at that table.
“Given the DOJ report, CDCR at this point has no choice but to work respectfully alongside advocates because these are constitutional violations that need remedy,” Nomura said.
Nomura mentioned specific things they want to see happen to staff who assault inmates, including being “removed from their positions” and getting “no access to their pensions.”
Prison sex assault
The first women’s-only prison in the U.S. opened in 1873 in Indiana. There was sexual assault by staff in that prison.
Some 140 years later, “Orange is the New Black,” a show about a women’s prison, debuted on Netflix with one of the first storylines being a guard impregnating a female inmate.
You’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone saying this is not an issue at female prisons across the country.
“This is not just a California problem,” Smith said.
While everyone Straight Arrow spoke with was encouraged by the message from Trump’s DOJ, they also showed a little surprise it came from this president.
“It is surprising to see something positive come out of this DOJ,” Huang said.
“I am very surprised,” Nomura echoed.
However, it may not be that surprising that Trump continued this Biden-era investigation considering the president’s well-reported disdain for and legal battles with the ultra-blue Golden State.
Trump has publicly sparred with California Gov. Gavin Newsom multiple times, and the administration’s immigration policies have rankled leaders in major California cities like Los Angeles.
Regardless of the motivation behind it, everyone agreed action needs to be taken and that it’s a good thing that the federal government has stepped in.
“This is the part where they show us what they believe in,” Nomura said. “We’re sitting back and waiting as a community to see. They’re talking the talk. Are they gonna walk the walk?”
That’s a big question, and one with an unclear answer given this administration’s past actions.
The Trump administration terminated all funding for the PREA Resource Center. That’s what used to be a federally funded program to help correctional facilities prevent, detect and respond to sexual abuse through training, resources and more.
“If the Trump administration was so concerned about victimization in custody, then it would not have weakened the Prison Rape Elimination Act in the way that it did,” Smith said.
The only other similar investigations under this DOJ came in Colorado, which is also a progressive state. Another came in California again and Maine, where the DOJ claimed biological men who have transitioned to being a woman were being housed with women.
The issue of the way trans people are treated in prison is another subject that experts repeatedly brought up.
“Do these protections or does this litigation also cover trans people in custody?” Smith said.
The Trump administration has already attempted to move trans women to male prisons.
“We’re hoping that the DOJ doesn’t talk out of two sides of their mouth while acknowledging that there’s sexual harm that’s been pervasive within the culture of CDCR but at the same time turn around and determine that trans people don’t deserve safety,” Nomura said.
Round out your reading
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- Photos and video show exactly where and when Trump visited Ground Zero after 9/11.
