A former prison warden faces trial in California over allegations of inmate abuse.

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The former warden of the abuse-plagued federal women’s prison known as the “Rape Club” will go on trial Monday after being accused of sexually abusing inmates and forcing them to pose naked in their cells.

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Ray J. Garcia, who retired after the FBI discovered nude photos of inmates on his government-issued cell phone last year, is one of five workers charged with abusing inmates at a federal correctional facility in Dublin, California. One and the first to be brought to trial.

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Opening statements and first witnesses are scheduled for Monday in federal court in Oakland. Garcia, 55, has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he faces up to his 15 years in prison.

A February Associated Press investigation uncovered a years-long culture of abuse and cover-up at a prison about 21 miles east of Auckland. The Bureau of Prisons promised to solve the problem and change the prison culture.

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Garcia was charged with abusing three inmates between December 2019 and July 2021, but jurors found he was groping and posing naked or in provocative clothing. I was able to hear from up to 6 women who said they told me to take it. He U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said prosecutors could call three more accusers as witnesses.

Garcia’s attorneys have repeatedly declined to comment and said they would respond to charges “only through the court process.” He plans to claim it was because he wanted proof that she was violating policy by standing naked.

With a #MeToo shadow behind the prison, the case is likely to put the spotlight on the Bureau of Prisons as well, handling inmate sexual abuse complaints against staff and the people it chose to run the prison. It calls into question people’s vetting processes. .

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Garcia was promoted from deputy superintendent to superintendent in November 2020 while he was still abusing inmates, according to prosecutors. He is the highest-ranking federal prison officer arrested in over a decade.

The agency’s new director, Collette Peters, has reiterated its zero-tolerance policy on sexual misconduct by agency staff and called for tougher punishments for workers who commit abuse. , the process of reporting it was essentially broken.

Garcia was responsible for training staff and inmates to report abuse and comply with the Federal Prison Rape Abolition Act at the same time he was committing the abuse, prosecutors say. abuse.

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Prosecutors say Garcia tried to silence the victim by promising to help her get her released early. He reportedly told one of his victims that he was “close friends” with a prison official charged with investigating staff misconduct and could not be fired. He said he liked to fight with inmates, according to the indictment.

Garcia also told federal investigators who ordered inmates to strip naked during patrols, asked inmates to remove their clothes, and asked if they ever inappropriately touched a female inmate. He has also been accused of lying.

“If they’re undressing, I’ve already seen,” Garcia told the FBI in July 2021, according to court records. “I don’t schedule things like, ‘Take off your clothes. I’ll be there.'”

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Garcia took a leave of absence before retirement and was arrested in September 2021.

The prisoners were not identified in court documents. AP generally does not name people who say they have been victims of sexual assault unless they agree to be identified.

All sexual activity between prison staff and inmates is illegal. Correctional officers enjoy substantial power over inmates, controlling every aspect of their lives from meal times to lights out, and there is no scenario that inmates can agree on.

Earlier this month, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco urged federal governments across the country to “consider all laws,” including the federal Violence Against Women Act in cases involving Prison Service employees accused of sexual misconduct. instructed the public prosecutor.

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In these cases, Monaco said prosecutors should consider asking judges to go beyond federal guidelines if the sentencing recommended in the guidelines is “fair and not proportionate to the seriousness of the crime.” said.

Monaco is a major player in the Department of Justice’s efforts to reform the federal prison system, meeting regularly with the Director of the Prisons Service and the Bureau’s Inspector General, and meeting with U.S. Attorneys and FBI Director Christopher Wray. and emphasized the need for prison employees to prosecute prison employees. cheat.

Of the four other Dublin workers charged with abusing prisoners, three have pleaded guilty and one will face trial next year. The prison chaplain, James Theodore Highhouse, is appealing his seven-year sentence, claiming it was excessive, more than double the sentence recommended by federal sentencing guidelines.