FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 13, 2022
Senate Hearing on Federal Bureau Prisons’ Failure to Prevent Correctional Officers from Sexually Assaulting Female Inmates
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Hears Testimony from Three Victims who Feared Retaliation for Reporting Sexual Abuse
WASHINGTON—At today’s hearing on Sexual Abuse of Female Inmates in Federal Prisons held by the bipartisan Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommitee on Investigations, three former federal female described in detail about how the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) entirely failed to protect them from sexual attack. The attackers, male federal correctional officers, were ultimately caught and convicted and are now serving lengthy prison sentences.
Linda De La Rosa testified that her attacker stayed at his job at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky for years – even though BOP management and investigators knew he was a sexual predator. It made her life in prison a living hell.
BOP management were well aware that female inmate-victims were reluctant to come forward because they feared retaliation. The ongoing threat of retaliation stopped Ms. De La Rosa from reporting her attacker. Ms. De La Rosa’s attacker, a male correctional officer, was able to access her personal history files, recordings of her telephone calls and personal emails — giving him additional leverage to extract sexual favors and threaten her safety.
Ms. De La Rosa testified about the “old boys club.” Prison staff, managers, investigators, correctional officers, work together for years, if not decades. No one wants to rock the boat, let alone listen to female inmates. There is no effective, independent oversight.
Ms. De La Rosa is by represented by Government Accountability Project’s David Z. Seide and by Bryan E. Busch of Busch Mills & Slomka LLP. Mr. Seide said:
The mission of the federal Bureau of Prisons is to protect society by confining offenders in facilities that are “safe, humane … and appropriately secure.” The agency failed Linda De La Rosa and her fellow inmates. She testified how they were confined in a facility that was unsafe, inhumane and unsecure. It never should have happened.
Ms. De La Rosa’s testimony can be found here.
Contact: Andrew Harman, Government Accountability Project Communications Director
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 202.926.3304
Government Accountability Project is the nation’s leading whistleblower protection organization. Through litigating whistleblower cases, publicizing concerns and developing legal reforms, Government Accountability Project’s mission is to protect the public interest by promoting government and corporate accountability. Founded in 1977, Government Accountability Project is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C.
###