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WASHINGTON — A legal settlement In the wake of rampant sexual abuse between employees and inmates, the Federal Bureau of Prisons will be forced to open its doors to a court-appointed monitor and publicly acknowledge widespread misconduct at its prisons. now closed women’s prison in California.

The Bureau of Prisons and attorneys for women suing for abuse at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, filed a proposed consent decree on Friday that would mandate greater transparency and important protections for victims, including options for parole and home confinement.

The agency’s director, Colette Peters, “will issue a formal, public recognition to the victims of staff sexual abuse at FCI Dublin” as part of the settlement.

The agreement, which requires a judge’s approval, comes after months of negotiations to resolve a class action lawsuit filed last year that sought concrete changes in the Bureau of Prisons’ treatment of female prisoners. Prisons and the handling of abuse claims.

The proposed consent decree, which would be in effect for at least two years, “is a historic victory, but our work is just beginning,” said Emily Shapiro, an advocate with the California Coalition for Women Prisoners and the Dublin Prison Solidarity Coalition.

“We will fight to ensure the agreement is fully implemented, and we will continue to communicate daily with the survivors of FCI Dublin and demand their freedom, bold policy changes across the prison system and ultimately community-based alternatives to prisons and gender issues. the violence they perpetuate,” Shapiro said.

The class action lawsuit, filed last year in federal court in Oakland, is one of several aimed at holding the agency accountable after a former administrator and other FCI Dublin employees went to prison for sexually abusing prisoners.

Other lawsuits seek monetary compensation for victims who say they suffered abuse and retaliation at the low-security facility, known among staff and inmates as the “rape club.”

The proposed settlement directly applies to nearly 500 inmates transferred to other federal prisons after the Bureau of Prisons temporarily closed FCI Dublin in April before announcing the permanent closure on Thursday.

The Bureau of Prisons said in a statement that it agreed to “the substantive terms of a proposed settlement to resolve all preliminary claims” in the class action lawsuit on Nov. 21 and that while that settlement was filed in district court on Friday, “ the decision to permanently close (FCI Dublin) is not a consequence of the agreement.”

But people involved in the negotiations say it is likely that thousands more incarcerated women will benefit as the court-appointed monitor examines the treatment of ex-Dublin inmates now housed in more than a dozen federal lockups. -ups in the US is closely monitored.

The monitor will have access to the women, staff and records and will issue monthly reports to the public on key findings on a range of issues, including abuse of staff and retaliation against prisoners, medical care and compliance with parole rules.

Some of the women who alleged abuse in Dublin say they were victims of similar misconduct at other institutions, and the AP found multiple arrests and convictions of Bureau of Prisons employees for sexually abusing inmates in other federal lockups .

“This reflects the lived reality of the class members in this lawsuit: the problems at FCI Dublin were not unique to that facility, and the BOP has failed people in its custody across the country,” the lawyer said. the plaintiffs, Amaris Montes of the legal interest group. organization Rights Behind Bars.

Before reaching an agreement, the Bureau of Prisons fought to have the lawsuit dismissed – at one point arguing that the temporary closure of FCI Dublin had rendered the case moot. The agency began moving inmates out of the facility just days after the judge in the case, Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, appointed a special captain to oversee operations.

On Friday, the Bureau of Prisons and plaintiffs’ attorneys jointly asked Gonzalez Rogers to select the same person, Wendy Still, as the court-appointed monitor mandated by the plea agreement.

Under the proposed agreement, plaintiffs will have ongoing and confidential access to court-appointed monitors, attorneys and community counselors to report abuse and potential violations of the consent decree.

The proposed agreement also includes protections against retaliation, including a ban on the Bureau of Prisons placing incarcerated claimants in a special housing unit — a form of detention similar to solitary confinement — for low-level disciplinary cases.

The body will also have to review and remove invalid disciplinary reports from FCI Dublin staff, which in some cases were issued to punish or keep prisoners quiet. If allowed to persist, these disciplinary reports could hinder an inmate’s access to parole or placement in a halfway house.

Under the proposed agreement, the agency must release eligible claimants as quickly as possible to halfway houses and home confinement, and may not deny parole solely on the basis of their immigration status or the fact that they are in custody. The agency will also be required to restore parole credits that inmates may have lost when they were transferred from FCI Dublin.

“BOP must honor the agreement for the people still in custody,” said prosecutor Griselda Muniz. “Ultimately, we pray for their return home as they deserve to heal from these traumatic events alongside their loved ones.”

A AP research discovered a culture of abuse and cover-up that had persisted for years in prison. That reporting led to increased congressional oversight and pledges from the Bureau of Prisons that it would fix the problems and change the culture at the prison — promises that came alongside Thursday’s closure announcement.

Since 2021, at least eight FCI Dublin employees have been accused of sexually abusing prisoners.

Five have pleaded guilty. Two were convicted at trial, including former director Ray Garcia. There is another case pending.

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