The Justice Department has been ordered to pay nearly $116 million to 103 women who say they were abused at a now-closed federal correctional facility in Dublin, Calif., dubbed the Rape Club.
The settlement, approved Tuesday, will pay an average of $1.1 million to each woman who accused the prison of abuse and sexual abuse of inmates by staff.
“We received a prison sentence, but we did not receive a sentence for assault or abuse,” Amy Chavira, a plaintiff in the lawsuit and a former prisoner in Dublin, told The Associated Press.
“I hope this settlement will help survivors like me begin to heal. But I don’t want money to repair the damage the BOP has done to us, or to help survivors who continue to languish in prison.” “We cannot release or bring back survivors who have been deported and separated from their families,” she said.
FBI investigates California federal women's prison plagued by sexual abuse
The Department of Justice will pay approximately $116 million to more than 100 women who say they were sexually abused at a federal correctional facility in Dublin, California. (Anda Chu/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images)
The prison's former warden, Ray Garcia, and seven other employees are currently in prison themselves on charges of sexually abusing inmates.
The eighth remaining correctional officer, Darrell Wayne Smith, is awaiting trial on 12 counts of sexual abuse.
Jessica Pride, one of the women's attorneys, said this is the largest settlement ever paid by the Justice Department to an incarcerated woman.
California female inmate files suit, claiming sexual abuse continues in prison despite previous prosecutions of police officers
For years, there have been reports of sexual abuse of female inmates by staff at the Federal Correctional Institution Dublin (FCI Dublin) in Dublin, California. (Anda Chu/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images)
Pride also said that if it were up to her, the amount would be “10 He also said it would double.
The victims were interviewed to assess how much money each should receive from the settlement. Pride said the amount was based on the amount of trauma and abuse the women had suffered.
The settlement, approved Tuesday, will pay an average of $1.1 million to each woman who filed suit alleging sexual abuse as an inmate at FCI Dublin. (St. Petersburg)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The California Women's Prisoners Coalition has filed a separate class action lawsuit, saying about 500 women held at FCI Dublin could benefit from court-ordered reforms in the future.
The Bureau of Prisons closed the facility in April and made the closure permanent last month.
