OAKLAND, Calif. (CN) — Women prisoners from the recently closed Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin, nicknamed the “rape club” by former inmates and staff, may see institutional change after a federal judge in California Tuesday said she would approve their final motion for settlement.
“We are thrilled that the court approved the consent decree. It provides vital protections for our class members and is the first time BOP has ever been under a court enforceable consent decree. We intend to monitor and enforce it vigorously over the next two years,” plaintiffs’ attorney Kara Janssen of Rosen Bien told Courthouse News.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers said that the agreement between the California Coalition for Women Prisoners and the Federal Bureau of Prisons “may not be perfect” but could be something both sides could live with.
“I am inclined to approve the consent decree — so we can continue to make progress, as imperfect as it may be,” the Barack Obama appointee said.
The settlement will guarantee ongoing medical and mental health care for the inmates related to their trauma, as well as oversight measures to prevent future abuse. The judge also acknowledged the agreement was the first of its kind.
“As many of you know, this hasn’t been done before in the United States with a federal facility. And that’s one of the risks the plaintiffs have always had moving forward,” Rogers said. “There were many arguments by the defendants on whether they would be able to do what they were attempting to do.”
The 43-page agreement with the California Coalition for Women Prisoners will require the Bureau of Prisons to secure ongoing mental health care and resources for affected prisoners, including regular access to their lawyers and the appointment of a monitor to report monthly on their medical and mental health status. A separate liaison will also be appointed through the bureau, whose sole duty will be to make sure that the consent decree is carried out as intended.
However, not all the prisoners were happy with the settlement. Many objected to its final approval, saying that the coalition should have argued for monetary relief and immediate release to home supervision.
Several of those prisoners joined the hearing via Zoom either to voice their concerns or listen to the proceedings. One inmate expressed concern that the decree lacked specific references to federal officials who could enforce the order.
“Why does the consent decree lack transparency? That confused me. It looked more like a checklist than an actual court order,” the inmate told the court via Zoom.
Janssen who represented the prisoner coalition, clarified that once the court approved the settlement, the final document would look more like an enforceable order.
Ultimately, Janssen urged the court to approve the settlement despite the objections, noting that the consent decree wouldn’t prevent those prisoners from seeking paid settlements in the future. She also noted that none of the objections challenged the “fair, accurate and reasonable” nature of the agreement itself.
Madison Mattioli of the United States Department of Justice, who represented the Bureau of Prisons, asked the court for more time to renegotiate two key paragraphs of the consent decree she described as “inconsistent” with the priorities of the new administration, ostensibly referring to the Trump Administration’s recent reversals on federal policy toward transgender inmates.
Rogers denied the government’s request.
“You don’t get two bites at the apple. There is always an opportunity to want more after a negotiated settlement. That’s why we sign it,” the judge said.
The judge did seem sympathetic to the government’s requests to move the effective date into late March or early April to allow the bureau time to properly train its staff on these new changes.
Janssen voiced concern at this point, saying it would be unwise to create a gap in protections for the prisoners at this point in the process.
Attorneys from both sides did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
FCI Dublin, about 20 miles east of Oakland, was one of six women-only federal prisons in the U.S. The Federal Bureau of Prisons managed the facility, which housed women, transgender men and non-binary people.
In its 2023 complaint, the prisoner coalition was joined by eight individuals who claimed FCI Dublin enabled a pattern of “rampant” sexual abuse of incarcerated people.
The plaintiffs say they endured “horrific abuse and exploitation” by facility staff, including sexual assault, sexual coercion and comments, voyeurism, drugging and abuse during medical exams. Some report being forced to strip for or perform sexual acts on prison staff, while others say they were harassed and raped. They say that the bureau had been aware of these problems for decades.
The prison’s reputation for abuse led both inmates and prison workers to nickname it “the rape club.” Inmates also claim that the facility’s staff protected each other by failing to investigate abuse claims by incarcerated people, or by retaliating against anyone reporting abuse.
Although the settlement before the court was focused on non-monetary relief, a separate class action based on similar claims settled last year for $116 million.
This case was filed in the Northern District of California and heard at the Ron V. Dellums Federal Courthouse in Oakland, California.