Another guard sentenced for sexual abuse at California women’s prison

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The Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, Calif. Associated Press/Photo by Jeff Chiu, file

Another guard sentenced for sexual abuse at California women’s prison

Nakie Nunley received a sentence on Wednesday of six years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty last year to charges of sexually abusing five female inmates at a California prison. He also pleaded guilty to charges that he lied to federal investigators about other sexual interactions he had with inmates while serving as a prison guard at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin. Nunley “egregiously exploited his authority” by abusing the prisoners and retaliating against those who spoke up about the abuse, according to Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.

Did any women speak up? In August 2023, eight inmates at the prison filed a lawsuit alleging they had suffered sexual abuse at the prison and that prison officials knew about it and chose not to do anything. The Federal Bureau of Investigation began examining claims of sexual abuse at the prison in 2020.

What other prison officials have faced charges? The Justice Department said in its announcement about Nunley’s sentence that he was the seventh correctional officer at the facility to receive a prison sentence. Former FCI Dublin Warden Ray J. Garcia has received a sentence of 70 months in prison, according to a statement last year by the Justice Department. A jury found Garcia guilty of eight criminal counts, including sexual abuse and lying to a federal official.

Have any other actions been taken to protect these inmates? Earlier this month, officials removed Acting Warden Art Dulgov and other prison officials from their positions amid allegations that he retaliated against a woman who testified against prison officials in January of this year. In a court document, lawyers for the U.S. government claimed the removal was “consistent with ongoing actions by BOP [Bureau of Prisons] leadership to enact positive changes at FCI Dublin.”

Dig deeper: Read Kim Henderson’s report in WORLD Magazine about how activist millionaires are funding U.S. prosecutors and seeking to overturn the rule of law in the country.