Press Release: United States to Pay over $130 Million to Survivors of Staff Sexual Abuse at FCI Dublin

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: December 18, 2024
Contact: Jaehyun Oh, Esq., j.oh@fuchsberg.com, (212) 869-3500

On December 17, 2024, a historic settlement in the aggregate amount of $116 million was reached on behalf of 103 women who suffered egregious sexual abuse by federal officers at FCI Dublin, a now-closed women’s prison in California popularly known as the “rape club.” Jaehyun Oh of the Jacob Fuchsberg Law Firm has led the charge as one of the four liaison counsel for these women, in addition to representing 30 additional FCI Dublin victims who obtained pre-suit settlements—bringing the total amount that the Federal Government has agreed to pay in these tragic cases to over $130 million.

According to Ms. Oh, “This record-setting settlement is only a small reflection of the horrific abuse that women suffer while incarcerated. A lot of these women were doubted, silenced, and retaliated against when they initially spoke up. No amount of money will bring these women’s dignity back, but I hope it sends a loud and clear message that these women’s voices should be heard.”

Indeed, despite this recent success, it remains to be an incredible uphill battle for prison sexual abuse survivors to seek justice. Prior to yesterday’s historic settlement, the largest payout from the Federal Government to prison sexual abuse victim was $1.2 million for a woman who was repeated sexually assaulted on a weekly basis for many months. There are also many practical barriers to proving a case, as the prisoners’ sexual abuse allegations are often distrusted and dismissed. In addition, criminal indictment is exceedingly rare in these cases. In Herrera v. United States where the Jacob Fuchsberg Law Firm obtained $3 million settlement for three sexual abuse victims at MCC New York, none of the three victims had been a charged victim in the perpetrating officer’s criminal case. This concerning pattern continued to FCI Dublin, where only a handful of victims who were eventually compensated through the civil cases received vindication in the criminal proceedings. Notably, the Northern District of California did bring an unprecedented number of criminal charges against eight FCI Dublin officers to date, including Warden Ray Garcia and Chaplain James Highhouse. Despite these efforts, criminal prosecution simply does not serve as a tool for accountability in numerous cases. Officers know too well which blind spots to commit assaults in, and which victims to assault, so that criminal charges will not be brought.

Civil cases are not free from legal hurdles either. Bivens, a case-law-based mechanism to bring constitutional claim against federal officers, is essentially defunct. Plaintiffs often need to rely on the Federal Torts Claims Act (“FTCA”) as the sole mechanism of relief, as was in the case of FCI Dublin settlement, except that FTCA comes with its own legal defenses. Plaintiffs are often charged with proving that there was prior notice to the Government regarding the perpetrating officer’s sexual proclivities or assaultive tendencies, which is often a daunting task given the vast resource gap between the staff and prisoners.

The $130 million settlement for FCI Dublin survivors goes to show the genuineness of the victims’ accounts and the gravity of their injuries. It reinforces that the survivors are telling the truth, and changes can be made through their courage. Despite the challenges, FCI Dublin cases have resulted in several monumental changes, not just in terms of monetary compensation for the victims, but in that: as of December 5, 2024, BOP announced a permanent closure of FCI Dublin so that it cannot create additional victims; a class has been certified for women who were incarcerated at FCI Dublin and a settlement agreement reached for injunctive relief to the class, including wide-scale reform of federal prisons across the country; and there has been an unprecedented level of recognition of the gravity and prevalence of prison sexual abuse, such that we see positive ramifications in collateral aspects including in compassionate release. Ms. Oh, having represented Carolyn Richardson in United States Senate Subcommittee hearing regarding sexual abuse in federal custody in December 2022, remarks, “It is simply incredible to see the difference over the past two years in ways in which compassionate release petitions from the victims are received. Not even in terms of the outcome, which has been different, but also just in the fact that the Judges across the country know that this is a real problem, and a real injustice to put anyone through.”

Jaehyun Oh and the Jacob Fuchsberg Law Firm would like to extend sincere gratitude and congratulations to their clients, as well as other victims of FCI Dublin, who trusted in our ability to seek justice on their behalf.

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