The disgraced former warden of a federal women’s prison in California has been found guilty of sexually abusing three inmates accused of running a “rape club” at the facility.
Ray J. Garcia, 55, pleaded guilty to eight counts and faces up to 15 years in prison. He was a former top official at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin – where stars Laurie Laughlin, Felicity Huffman and Allison Mack all served time.
Garcia resigned from his prison post last year after the FBI found nude photos of inmates on his government-issued cell phone. Four other prison officials were charged, two of whom pleaded guilty.
Prosecutors say the former warden’s abuse began by praising inmates and promising to move them to lower-security prisons before the sexual abuse escalated, including abusing inmates and forcing them to undress in their cells.
Garcia, the highest-ranking federal prison official to be arrested in more than a decade, initially pleaded not guilty to the charges.
At the opening of the trial, the court heard that what happened to Garcia and his staff was so public that inmates called it a “rape club”.
Prosecutors said Garcia, who was a warden from November 2020 until he was placed on administrative leave in July 2021, was responsible for training staff and inmates on how to report abuse and comply with federal rape laws. He was killed, prosecutors said.
Some inmates said they accused staff of abuse and were sent to solitary confinement or other prisons. According to the indictment, he said he liked to talk to inmates because they “couldn’t screw it up” given that they had no power in the prison.
All sexual contact between a prison officer and a prisoner is illegal, given that prison officers exercise considerable control over their lives, such as mealtimes and when the lights go out at night, where the prisoner can give appropriate consent. There is no such scenario.
Garcia promised the victims early release in exchange for their silence about the widespread abuse.
Prosecutors said he told one of the victims that he was “close friends” with a prison official in charge of investigating employee misconduct and would not be fired.
Prosecutors also accused Garcia of ordering inmates to strip naked in front of him and lying to federal investigators about it.
“We’re seeing inmates getting dressed and stuff … and if they’re getting undressed, I’m already looking,” Garcia told the FBI in July 2021, according to court documents. “I don’t like setting a time like, ‘You take off, I’ll be there.'”
An inmate named Melissa, whose last name has been withheld, testified that Garcia repeatedly told her he wanted to “fk” her and showed her nude photos “all the time.” according to reports.
Prosecutors allege that between 2019 and 2021, Garcia digitally penetrated Melissa and forced her to touch his genitals. The incidents took place in a prison bathroom and cell, where Garcia allegedly stuffed “half-eaten, sucked-in” candies into her vagina.
Melissa told investigators that even though she was embarrassed and hurt by Garcia during the sex, she followed through on his words.
Prosecutors said Garcia sexually assaulted the women in areas he knew were not in jail cells.
The prison, about 20 miles southeast of Oakland, is often called “Club Fed” because it has housed a number of celebrities over the years, including Patty Hearst and Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss. It can accommodate up to 650 prisoners.
Felicity Huffman served 11 days of a two-week sentence After pleading guilty to involvement in a college admissions scandal in 2019.
Laurie Loughlin In 2020, he served almost two months in prison for his role in the same case. Although Garcia worked at the prison while both women were there, it is unclear if they ever crossed paths.
Garcia resigned as a security guard a month ago actress Allison Mack began a three-year prison sentence in June 2021 on racketeering and conspiracy charges related to his role in the NXIVM cult scandal.
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