The probe centered on two facilities: the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla and the California Institution for Women in Chino. Federal investigators launched the inquiry after hundreds of women incarcerated at the two prisons filed legal claims alleging exploitation by employees, and after a former correctional officer was arrested on charges of sexually abusing at least 22 women.

As part of the investigation, the Justice Department examined 350 separate allegations of sexual misconduct, conducted interviews with prisoners, and reviewed footage from body-worn cameras.

The findings, released Thursday, describe what investigators called an “unbroken pattern” of sexual assault by staff stretching back more than two decades at both institutions. According to the report, prison leadership was aware that women faced a real and ongoing risk of abuse yet consistently failed to take adequate steps to prevent it.

Investigators identified a range of systemic failures — missing camera coverage in key areas, the absence of truly confidential channels for reporting abuse, poorly conducted investigations, and a lack of meaningful consequences for offending staff. The Justice Department characterized these shortcomings as “deliberate indifference,” concluding they amounted to violations of incarcerated women’s constitutional rights.

“None of this should be surprising to CDCR, none of it should be surprising to the Legislature,” said Amika Mota, executive director of the Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition, a prisoner advocacy organization. She noted that survivors have repeatedly raised these concerns publicly — at legislative hearings, community forums and in prior reports — in hopes of prompting reform.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation maintains it enforces a zero-tolerance policy toward staff sexual misconduct and points to recent efforts to broaden reporting mechanisms and camera surveillance. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandra Young said those changes have not addressed the deeper, structural issues driving the abuse.

“Women were not being protected,” Young told KQED. “It was the cycle that’s continuing to happen.”

At the Chowchilla facility, federal investigators documented surveillance gaps around the plant operations area and in prison kitchens. Incarcerated women told investigators that certain kitchen storage spaces lacking cameras were referred to as “sugar rooms” — named both for the sugar kept there and because the absence of surveillance made them a site where sexual activity could go undetected. Investigators also cited abandoned buildings where abuse reportedly took place.

“Things like that were extremely concerning,” Young said.

The report further found that correctional officers often failed to properly use their body cameras, at times switching them off in violation of department policy. Notably, only correctional officers are required to wear the devices, even though confirmed abuse cases have involved other prison employees, including a cook, a mental health counselor and staff overseeing work programs.

Among the cases detailed in the report is that of former correctional officer Gregory Rodriguez, accused of abusing dozens of women at the Chowchilla facility over roughly a decade. The state corrections department substantiated claims that he engaged in sexual acts with 21 incarcerated women, while federal investigators identified more than 65 alleged victims linked to him. Some women said the assaults occurred in a parole hearing room that had no camera coverage. Rodriguez was charged in 2023 by the Madera County District Attorney’s Office with 97 criminal counts tied to 13 victims, and was convicted last year on 64 counts. He is now serving a 224-year prison sentence.

At the California Institution for Women in Chino, the report cites cases going back more than 10 years, including instances where correctional officers were criminally convicted or disciplined for sexually abusing incarcerated women.

Mota said she believes the hundreds of allegations reviewed by federal investigators represent only a fraction of the actual abuse. While more survivors have come forward in recent years, she said many women still avoid reporting incidents out of fear of retaliation — a concern the federal report validates.

Investigators found that the internal system meant to let incarcerated women report abuse confidentially was, in practice, not secure. Written grievances, known as 602 forms, are digitized and stored in a system accessible to prison staff. In one instance, the corrections department discovered that an officer had improperly accessed the files of 11 incarcerated women — nine of whom had accused him of sexual misconduct.

Some women reported facing disciplinary write-ups, cell searches, confiscation of belongings and loss of privileges after coming forward with complaints. Several said they waited to report abuse until after their release, a transfer to another facility, or securing legal representation.

The federal report also addressed a mass use-of-force incident at the Chowchilla prison in August 2024, concluding it was retaliatory in nature, tied to women’s reports of staff sexual abuse. Young said investigators devoted substantial time to interviewing those involved and reviewing records connected to the incident, which left victims with injuries ranging from seizures to blindness. The state reached a $1.9 million settlement in April with 13 women harmed in that incident, and its internal investigation resulted in terminations, retraining, and other corrective measures after finding that 41 employees had violated department policy.

Federal investigators also uncovered cases where potential DNA evidence went untested, accused staff and witnesses were never interviewed, and probes dragged on for months or years without resolution. In at least one instance, delays were so extensive that the department missed its own one-year deadline to discipline the officer involved. Separately, the state’s Office of the Inspector General found that 86% of disciplinary and criminal investigations reviewed during the first half of 2025 were rated either “inadequate” or in need of improvement.

Young said that even in cases where women’s allegations appeared credible, investigations sometimes stalled for more than a year and, in some instances, concluded without substantiating the claims — even when portions of the women’s accounts had been independently corroborated.

In a written statement, the corrections department said it takes “every allegation seriously” and remains “dedicated to ensuring accountability, strengthening protections, and maintaining institutions that ensure the personal safety of all individuals.” The agency also pointed to audits conducted under the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act, noting that both facilities met all 45 standards evaluated.

As part of its findings, the Justice Department is now requiring California to expand camera coverage, broaden the use of body cameras among staff, create confidential reporting channels independent of the department, and improve both the quality of investigations and protections against retaliation.

“The state must confront the persistent failure of its own employees to prevent and address sexual abuse at these facilities and the systemic breakdowns that have permitted these conditions to persist,” said Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California. “This report should serve as a turning point.”

The corrections department said it looks forward to working with the Justice Department “regarding their recommendations.”

Federal officials also called for disciplinary consequences — including possible termination — for employees who improperly access or share grievance information, along with real accountability for staff found to have retaliated against those who report abuse. The Justice Department noted that the U.S. attorney general retains the authority to sue the state within 49 days if it fails to act on the findings.

Antoinette Yancey, who is currently incarcerated at the Central California Women’s Facility, said she hopes the federal report will finally lead to genuine accountability.

“Some of us are in here for far less than what has been done to us, doing life sentences and decades’ worth of time, while we’re also being preyed upon,” Yancey said. “And it’s just not fair.”

Original source: CalMatters

The post Justice Department Report Details Ongoing Sexual Abuse by Staff in California Prisons appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Between 2020 and 2025, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spent nearly $50 million on fire watch staffing, according to figures reviewed by CalMatters. Prison employees have logged roughly 270,000 hours over that span simply patrolling facilities and visually checking for signs of fire, based on job postings for the positions.

The reason traces back to the poor condition of fire alarm systems at most of California’s 31 prisons. Replacing them all would cost an estimated $1.5 billion, according to the department’s annual report submitted to the state in January.

Faced with outdated, malfunctioning and inoperable alarm systems, the state Office of the State Fire Marshal ordered the department to maintain human fire watches until the equipment is repaired or replaced. That mandate has proven costly. In a recent budget request, corrections officials asked for $15.2 million to fund fire watch coverage for the coming year, writing that the requirement “has resulted in significant expense to the department in personnel costs for fire watch.”

That sum is a small fraction of the department’s overall $14.6 billion budget, but the costs keep climbing well beyond projections. The Legislative Analyst’s Office reported that in June, the department announced it expected to spend about $40 million on fire watch coverage for the previous year — roughly $25 million more than originally budgeted.

The price tag for fixing the underlying problem is steep. According to cost estimates in the prison system’s facility master plan, replacing the fire alarm system at a single prison can run anywhere from $3 million to $87 million.

Caitlin O’Neil, a senior fiscal and policy analyst with the Legislative Analyst’s Office who tracks the corrections budget, said the department has traditionally assigned fire watch duty to correctional officers because the job requires keys and the ability to move freely throughout a prison. Those hours are typically billed as overtime. According to a 2024 state salary survey, an experienced correctional officer earns a base salary of $9,647 a month.

O’Neil said the department is now exploring cheaper staffing options, acknowledging that fully trained correctional officers bring skills well beyond fire detection. A pilot program is underway at California State Prison, Solano, where fire watch duties have been reclassified under a lower-paid “office technician” position supervised by a correctional sergeant. According to a job posting, the top salary for that role is $4,357 a month.

Royal Ramey, a firefighter who was formerly incarcerated and co-founded the nonprofit Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, said fire safety inside correctional facilities is not something the state can afford to compromise on.

“Incarcerated people, as well as staff at these facilities, deserve reliable systems and strong safeguards that keep everyone safe during emergencies,” he said. “In a fire emergency, there’s no room for failure in protection. But the priority has to remain protecting lives, while continuing to build permanent, dependable infrastructure solutions.”

Not everyone is convinced the spending is justified. Matt Cate, who served as California’s corrections secretary under former Govs. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown, said he’s skeptical of the arrangement, describing it as paying people to stand around looking for a problem that largely doesn’t exist.

“Large-scale prison fires are extremely rare because these buildings are made of concrete and steel,” Cate said. “Every prison has its own fire crew and staff present around the clock. Coverage is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Cate said the state enforces strict regulations to manage fire risk in its prisons, which puts the department in a bind: either spend hundreds of millions of dollars modernizing alarm systems, or keep requesting additional funding each year to maintain compliance through staffing.

“It’s a bit like deciding whether to buy the house or rent it,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s up to the governor’s office and the Legislature to decide how much to invest and how much to just manage the problem by hiring more people.”

Kristen Cowan, an assistant professor at the University at Buffalo who studies how extreme weather disasters affect prisons and jails, said she was surprised to learn it’s legal for correctional facilities to operate with nonfunctioning fire alarm systems.

“This is basic disaster preparedness,” Cowan said. “It’s definitely concerning to know that technology is missing. It makes you wonder what else might be lacking at these facilities.”

Cowan warned that relying on human fire watches instead of modern detection technology could lead to significant delays in identifying fires, raising the risk of injuries, deaths and health problems tied to smoke exposure.

“We wouldn’t let anyone else live somewhere without a smoke detector,” she said.

Original source: CalMatters

The post California Prisons Rely on Their Own Staff as Human Fire Alarms — Here’s Why appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Between 2020 and 2025, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spent nearly $50 million on what’s known as “fire watch” staffing, according to state records. Over that stretch, prison employees logged roughly 270,000 hours patrolling facilities and visually scanning for signs of trouble, walking assigned routes and checking different areas during their shifts, per job postings reviewed by CalMatters.

The practice exists because most of California’s 31 prisons — including several in the Inland Empire region and across Southern California — have fire alarm systems that no longer meet code. Fixing or replacing all of them statewide would cost an estimated $1.5 billion, according to the department’s most recent annual report submitted to the state in January.

Faced with aging, malfunctioning or entirely inoperable alarm systems, the Office of the State Fire Marshal directed the corrections department to keep human fire watch coverage in place until repairs or replacements are completed. That mandate has proven costly. In a recent request to state lawmakers, corrections officials asked for $15.2 million to fund next year’s fire watch staffing alone, acknowledging that the arrangement “has come at a significant expense to the department.”

That figure represents a small slice of the department’s overall $14.6 billion budget, but the costs keep climbing. Officials told the Legislative Analyst’s Office in June that last year’s fire watch spending was on pace to hit roughly $40 million — about $25 million more than what had been budgeted.

By comparison, replacing the fire alarm system at a single prison can run anywhere from $3 million to $87 million, depending on the facility, according to estimates included in the department’s facilities master plan.

Caitlin O’Neil, a principal fiscal and policy analyst with the Legislative Analyst’s Office who tracks the corrections budget, said the department has traditionally assigned correctional officers to fire watch duty because the job requires keys and unrestricted access throughout the prison. Those hours are generally billed as overtime. An experienced correctional officer earns a base salary of $9,647 a month, according to a 2024 state compensation survey.

But O’Neil said the department is now testing whether a lower-cost position could handle the same responsibilities, since correctional officers are trained for far more than fire monitoring. A pilot program at Solano State Prison has reclassified fire watch duties under an “office assistant” title reporting to a correctional sergeant — a position that tops out at $4,357 a month, according to a job listing.

Royal Ramey, a formerly incarcerated firefighter who co-founded the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, said there’s no room for compromise when it comes to fire safety behind bars.

“People who are incarcerated, as well as the staff inside these facilities, deserve reliable systems and strong emergency protections that keep everyone safe,” Ramey said. “In situations involving fire emergency response, there can be no gaps in protection. But the priority must also remain protecting lives while continuing to advance permanent and reliable infrastructure solutions.”

Not everyone is convinced the current approach makes sense. Matt Cate, who served as California’s corrections secretary under Govs. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown, questioned the value of paying people to watch for a fire that, statistically, almost never happens.

“Large-scale fires in prisons are extremely rare because prisons are made of concrete and steel,” Cate said. “There’s a fire department attached to each prison and there are people throughout the prison who are there all the time. It’s staffed 24-7.”

Cate said the state’s fire-safety regulations for prisons are notably strict, which leaves the department choosing between a massive upfront investment to modernize alarm systems or continuing to request incremental funding each year to maintain compliance through staffing.

“It’s a little like deciding, do we buy the house or do we rent?” he said. “It’s ultimately the governor’s office and the Legislature who have to decide how much to invest versus how much to plug the problem through adding additional staff.”

Kristen Cowan, an assistant professor at the University of Buffalo who studies how extreme weather and disasters affect prisons and jails, said she was surprised to learn that inoperable fire alarm systems are apparently permitted under current rules.

“This is baseline disaster preparedness,” Cowan said. “It’s certainly concerning to know that that technology is missing. It makes you wonder what else is missing in the facilities.”

Cowan warned that relying on human observation instead of functioning alarm technology could slow fire detection significantly, increasing the risk of injuries, deaths and long-term health problems tied to smoke exposure.

“We wouldn’t let anyone else live in a place that doesn’t have a smoke detector,” she said.

Original source: CalMatters

The post California Prisons Rely on Staff, Not Alarms, to Warn of Fires, Raising Safety Concerns appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.