California Prison Warden Charged With Sexually Abusing 2 More Female Inmates as New Cases Surface

The sexual misconduct by employees of a women's prison in Dublin, California has become so infamous that prisoners and workers have called it "the rape club."

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California on Tuesday announced more cases against its embattled former warden, Ray Garcia.

Garcia was already facing serving prison sentences for sexual abuse charges. However, the Attorney's Office said a federal grand jury issued a superseding indictment against Garcia as it was found that he had allegedly abused two other female prisoners.

The new indictment charged him with seven counts of sexually abusive conduct. These were down to three female victims, all serving prison sentences in the facility where Garcia served as the warden.

The Associated Press launched an investigation into these alleged abuses and found a "culture of abuse and cover-ups" that had persisted in the prison for years.

California Ex-Jail Warden Ordered Inmates to Strip and Took Pictures of Them

According to the Associated Press, Ray Garcia was arrested last September after he was accused of molesting an inmate. He made her and another inmate strip naked as he did his rounds. He then took pictures of them.

The images were found in his personal laptop and his government-issued cell phone when the FBI raided his office and house last summer.

Garcia continued to abuse the inmates between December 2019 and March 2020, and it only ended when the pandemic happened, and the inmates were locked down in their cells.

Garcia is also accused of abuse of authority, as he intimidated one of his victims, telling her he was "close friends" with the one investigating staff misconduct.

He also boasted to her that he could not be fired. However, one month after he was arrested, Garcia retired. He pleaded not guilty to these charges.

However, this newly updated indictment also alleged that he sexually abused two other female inmates between March 2020 and July 2021. Garcia allegedly touched the three women in a sexual manner and asked multiple inmates to undress for him at a specific time.

One of the women was also sexually abused in a prison bathroom, while another was forced to touch his genitals. He also grabbed the third woman's buttocks, according to the indictment.

Ray Garcia was also charged with one count of making false statements to government agents. The Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California said Garcia was out of custody Tuesday and his initial appearance in connection with the new indictment has not yet been scheduled.

However, it noted that Garcia is facing a jury trial starting on November 21, in front of District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.

Other Employees in California Prison Also Charged

The former prison warden was not the only person involved in the case. Several other employees of the prison were also charged.

One of them was Ross Klinger, 36, who has already pleaded guilty. He worked as a recycling technician at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin and was charged with three counts of sexual abuse of a ward.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Klinger faces up to 15 years in prison. He was placed on administrative leave on April 2021 but remains "employed" by the Bureau of Prisons.

He was finally arrested last June for sexually abusing at least two inmates. The abuse allegedly happened from March to September 2020, within prison grounds.

Klinger also allegedly told the women he was abusing that he wanted to marry them and father their children. He even went as far as proposing to one of them with a diamond ring.

However, another prisoner aware of the abuse he was doing reported him to the Bureau of Prisons in June 2020.

Prison chaplain James Theodore Highhouse is also one of the four employees arrested. He allegedly placed his penis on an inmate's genitals, mouth, and hand. He also reportedly masturbated in front of her in 2018 and 2019.

Highhouse was also accused of lying to investigators. He is reportedly expected to plead guilty to his charges.

Prison safety administrator John Russell Bellhouse is the final prison employee to be charged. He allegedly sexually abused an inmate he called his "girlfriend."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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