According to the prosecutors, conditions at both facilities have attracted lawsuits.

Hundreds of private lawsuits have been filed over the last two years alleging inmates incarcerated at the Chowchilla facility have been raped, grouped and sexually abused, the Justice Department said Wednesday, adding that one lawsuit filed on behalf of 21 women incarcerated at the Chino prison accuses staff of rape, penetration, groping, oral copulation and threats of violence and punishment from 2014 to 2022.

Correction staff at both facilities have been accused of seeking sexual favors from inmates in exchange for contraband and privileges, federal prosecutors said.

“No woman incarcerated in a jail or prison should be subjected to sexual abuse by prison staff who are constitutionally bound to protect them,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement.

“Every woman, including those in prison, retains basic civil and constitutional rights and should be treated with dignity and respect.”

During prepared remarks, Clarke said in announcing the investigation that it was being conducted under the Civil Rights for the Institutionalized Persons Act, which authorizes federal prosecutors to determine if the constitutional rights of inmates were being violated.

She added that based on a review of publicly available information that shows sexual abuse of women has been reported at the facilities since at least 2016 “we find significant justification to open this investigation now.”

“California is well aware of allegations at Central California Women’s Facility and the California Institution for Women,” she said.

UPI has contacted the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for comment.

“Allowing such violence to drag on is cruel, inhumane and unconstitutional. California must ensure that the people it incarcerates are reasonably protected from sexual abuse,” she said.