Warden removed from position at California federal women’s prison months into his tenure

Officials on Monday removed Art Dulgov as the warden of the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, Calif. Federal lawyers claimed in court documents that Dulgov and three other employees were removed following allegations that the staff retaliated against an inmate who testified against the prison in January. The inmate’s testimony was part of a class action lawsuit filed in August by eight women who have accused prison staff of sexual abuse. Federal officials in the court documents filed Monday claim that the inmate was transferred to a different prison even though a judge ordered authorities not to transfer any witnesses without court approval.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons named Deputy Regional Director Nancy T. McKinney the interim warden at the prison, according to the Associated Press, citing a statement from bureau spokeswoman Randilee Giamusso.

What has happened at the prison? The FBI in 2020 began a criminal investigation into allegations of sexual abuse at the prison. Inmates claimed that staff members and guards abused them and threatened them to remain silent. In August 2023, eight women and the organization California Coalition for Women Prisoners filed a complaint alleging that prison management knew about reports of systemic abuse and failed to address the issue.

Who has been sentenced so far? A district judge last spring sentenced former warden Ray Garcia to nearly six years in prison, and the same judge in November sentenced former correctional officer Andrew Jones to eight years in prison for abusing inmates. So far, at least eight former employees have been charged.

Dig deeper: Read Grace Snell’s report in WORLD Magazine about how some defendants wait in overcrowded jails for their court date.