U.S. Agrees to Pay $116 Million to Settle Sexual Abuse Claims at California Prison

The federal government agreed on Tuesday to pay about $116 million to settle lawsuits by 103 women who said they had been sexually abused while in custody at a now-shuttered women’s prison in Northern California where such claims were rampant.Lawyers for the women said the deal was the largest of its kind reached with the federal Bureau of Prisons, and a landmark victory that they hoped would offer abuse victims at prisons across the country hope that justice was possible.The Bureau of Prisons confirmed the settlement in a statement on Tuesday and said that it “strongly condemns all forms of sexually abusive behavior and takes seriously its duty to protect the individuals in our custody as well as maintain the safety of our employees and community.”The Federal Correction Institution in Dublin, Calif., a low-security facility about 30 miles east of San Francisco, had at one point housed 600 inmates and had stood out as a particularly egregious example of abuse in women’s prisons.At least seven correctional officers have pleaded guilty or been convicted on charges of sexual abuse at the prison.

The case against an eighth officer is still pending.Last year, a former prison warden, Ray Garcia, was sentenced to 70 months in prison and 15 years of supervised release for sexually abusing three female inmates and lying to federal investigators.Abuse had been so rampant at the prison that it became known among to many as the “rape club,” said Jessica Pride, whose law firm represented some of the victims.“What happened at Dublin was not just a failure of oversight,” Ms.Pride said in a statement.

“It was a cultural rot, where sexual abuse became entrenched as part of the prison’s operations.”Tuesday’s settlement agreement resolved claims that had been made in the last three to five years against more than 25 correctional officers and medical personnel, according to another law firm that represented 24 of the women.But the settlement represents only a...