FCI Dublin, the troubled women's federal prison in California, was raided yesterday by FBI agents according to multiple news sources. The Associated Press reported a warden, associate warden and a captain were removed from the facility, while more than a dozen FBI agents seized computers and documents. In 2021, FCI Dublin’s warden Ray Garcia and facility’s chaplain were indicted on sexual assault charges against female inmates. Garcia was found guilty and is currently serving a 70-month prison term.
The warden at FCI Dublin, Art Dulgov, had only been on the job three months and represented the fourth warden over the facility since Garcia’s arrest. Dulgov maintains his own website highlighting his experience at the BOP.
There has been much focus on the facility over the past few years. As part of a U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on December 13, 2022, Senator Jon Ossoff stated that “In July of this year [2022], the former Director of BOP testified before this very Subcommittee and insisted that BOP was able to keep female prisoners safe from sexual abuse by BOP employees. We now know that that statement was unequivocally false.”
Current Bureau of Prisons Director Colette Peters stepped into the job in August 2022 and she made FCI Dublin a priority. In the Senate hearing in December 2022, Peters said, “Stopping sexual misconduct at Bureau facilities is an issue of critical importance, and I appreciate this Committee’s support in this area. I see this moment as an important opportunity to work together to make our facilities safer for the people in our custody.”
On July 14, 2022, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco issued a memorandum identifying deep concerns about instances of reported and proven sexual misconduct by BOP employees. A working group was formed and a report issued in November 2022. The recommendations from the group centered around five areas: (1) Prevention; (2) Reporting; (3) Investigation; (4) Prosecution; and (5) Employee Discipline.
In a court filing on March 11, 2024, the U.S. Attorneys Office for Northern District of California stated that “on March 11, 2024, the Bureau of Prisons replaced executive employees (the Acting Warden, an Associate Warden, the Executive Assistant/Satellite Camp Administrator, and the Acting Captain) at FCI Dublin. This change is consistent with ongoing actions by BOP leadership to enact positive changes at FCI Dublin, and in response to recent developments that were raised in post-hearing motions (see. e.g., docs 163, 166, 175) and in the February 27, 2024 show cause hearing.” The filing was part of twelve lawsuits filed by women who allege they were assaulted while incarcerated at FCI Dublin.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons issued a statement on the events at Dublin which read, “Consistent with unprecedented and ongoing actions by FBOP leadership to create a positive change in the culture at FCI Dublin, recent developments have necessitated new executive employees be installed at the institution. This new team has been charged with developing a plan for the future of the facility.
While we do not comment on specific personnel matters, we can confirm Nancy T. McKinney has been assigned as the interim Warden at FCI Dublin effective immediately.
Out of respect and deference to our law enforcement partners, we decline to comment on the nature of their operations.”
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Article originally published on Forbes.com by Walter Pavlo (March 12, 2024)
