Feds investigate California prisons where women say ‘culture of impunity’ surrounds abuse

“We are incredibly grateful that the Department of Justice has stepped in,” said Amika Mota, executive director of the advocacy group Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition.

“As former inmates who have lived in prison, it’s usually when the feds get involved that we see some action and change. And unfortunately, over the last few years, working closely with CDCR and also trying to get more trauma-informed support for people in prison, we’ve seen a reluctance to let advocates in.”

State law AB 1455 allows victims to sue in civil court up to 10 years after their attackers are convicted of sexual assault or the crime in which the sexual assault was originally alleged. It also gives victims the ability to sue up to 10 years after their attacker leaves the law enforcement agency they were working for at the time of the assault.

Since the law took effect, women have filed hundreds of lawsuits detailing numerous incidents of sexual assault by corrections officers supervised by CDCR, including at Chowchilla and Chino facilities.

The lawsuits include allegations of improper searches and rape, and officers at both facilities allegedly solicited sexual favors in exchange for contraband and privileges, the Justice Department said in a news release. And among the corrections officers accused of misconduct are those responsible for handling sexual harassment complaints from women incarcerated there, according to the Justice Department.

“Prisons were initially built for ‘reform,’ as places of ‘penance,’ but they have become places where the outcasts of society suffer a litany of abuses at the hands of those we hold responsible for our safety. Places where a culture of impunity prevails,” Brown said.

In her testimony, Brown described the punishment she faced after speaking out against sexual violence.

“Because I am completely at the mercy of my abusers, I feel constant anxiety knowing the lengths they will go to cover up their wrongdoings,” she said. “I was stripped of my property, isolated, monitored and unable to communicate with my loved ones when I came out.”

State Sen. Nancy Skinner, who represents the East Bay, visited Chowchilla Prison with other legislators last January and spoke with women inside the prison about the challenges of reporting abuse.

“No person, … no matter what actions they took that led to their sentence, should be subjected to assault or rape while in prison. No one,” said Skinner, chair of the California Legislative Women’s Caucus.