Inside the 'rape club prison': Former inmates tell their stories

(NewsNation) — Six women who were formerly incarcerated astatine FCI Dublin successful California are telling their stories of surviving a national situation truthful notorious for intersexual abuse, it was called the “rape club.”

They archer NewsNation investigative analogous Natasha Zouves they were assaulted by officers who worked there, and erstwhile they tried to study the abuse, they were silenced; some, thrown into solitary confinement, others had their merchandise dates postponed. All successful an effort, they say, to screen up what was truly happening down national situation walls.

'They’re each successful it together': The Warden’s abuse

Yvonne Palmore says she remembers Warden Ray J. Garcia lasting implicit her, filming her bare assemblage arsenic she was beaten by a radical of guards.

Courtesy: Yvonne Palmore

“I happened to look up and he’s lasting implicit maine with this smirk connected his face,” said Palmore. “I woke up successful the hospital. I had bruises from caput to toe, footwear prints, existent footwear prints connected my assemblage for months. So they hid maine successful the SHU.”

Palmore said she was enactment successful the Special Housing Unit (SHU) successful solitary confinement, astatine 1 point, for 7 and a fractional months.

“They told my household I was dormant erstwhile they came to visit. That they didn’t cognize wherever my assemblage was, my remains,” said Palmore.

Warden Ray J. Garcia was 1 of 8 erstwhile FCI Dublin correctional officers charged successful national tribunal for sexually abusing women down bars — a grounds fig of correctional officers charged with enactment crimes astatine immoderate national situation successful the United States, according to the Garrison Project.

Garcia is the archetypal warden successful the past of the Bureau of Prisons to beryllium incarcerated for a enactment offense. He was convicted by a assemblage and sentenced to 70 months successful prison.

“They’re each together. They’re each successful it together,” said Palmore. “I didn’t deliberation I would ever spot my household again.”

'Nowhere was safe': Abuse successful the Prison Church

The erstwhile inmates accidental the maltreatment was everyplace — successful the cells, the hallways, adjacent the situation religion wasn’t safe.

Windy Panzo said she’s conscionable 1 of the survivors of Chaplain James Theodore Highhouse’s abuse. She said she deed stone bottommost astatine FCI Dublin and turned to faith.

“It got existent dark, truthful I started leaning connected God. I coiled up going to church. That turned retired to beryllium adjacent darker,” said Panzo.

Courtesy: Windy Panzo

She alleges that the chaplain abused her a full of, “four times… erstwhile they telephone you to go, you can’t refuse. You can’t bash anything. So helium would telephone maine implicit to get these certificates that helium would write. He would upwind up grabbing maine oregon doing immoderate that helium wanted to. And I couldn’t refuse. You can’t leave.”

Windy Panzo alleges maltreatment astatine the hands of Chaplain Highhouse, she says helium would contented certificates similar these, compelling her to sojourn his bureau wherever the maltreatment would occur. Chaplain Highhouse has not been charged successful transportation with Panzo, helium pled blameworthy to 4 counts of intersexual maltreatment and was sentenced to 84 months successful prison. Courtesy: Windy Panzo.

Panzo is retired from down bars now, trying to rebuild her life. She says she goes to therapy, but she is everlastingly changed by what happened successful the chaplain’s office.

“I was 140 pounds erstwhile each of this occurred, and I ate myself up to implicit 200 pounds. I figured if I became ugly, past nary 1 other would privation me, nary 1 other successful the situation strategy would travel aft me, and that wasn’t true. I can’t spell to church. I don’t spell to religion astatine all, I don’t prime up my bible. I can’t,” said Panzo.

Highhouse was ne'er charged straight successful Panzo’s case, helium pleaded blameworthy to 4 counts of intersexual maltreatment and was sentenced to 84 months successful prison.

'It was a convulsive benignant of episode': Abuse and Retaliation

Darlene Baker says she inactive can’t slumber aft what happened. In a national suit filed past June, she claims to person been sexually abused by a aesculapian unit subordinate astatine FCI Dublin.

“I get a changeable each 2 weeks for a beauteous terrible autoimmune disorder. And I went successful to get my shot, and helium said, ‘Oh, spell connected backmost to wherever the refrigerator is, into the backmost aesculapian room.’ And I didn’t know, but helium had past locked the beforehand doorway and locked the wrong door,” said Baker.

“(He) pushed maine hard against the wall, and it was a convulsive benignant of episode. I benignant of, I don’t know, blacked out. And erstwhile I came back, erstwhile determination was knocking connected the doorway and helium had yet stopped, my garment and bra was up to my cervix and my pants were down,” said Baker.

Courtesy: Darlene Baker

Baker says she tried to study the assault, and the retaliation began. She says her merchandise was canceled and extended for 8 months. Phone calls, emails and idiosyncratic visits were chopped off. She became determined to beryllium the whistleblower who would assistance bring this each down.

“I person a ineligible background, And what I saw, I was similar I’m going to bash this. I’m going to study what I’m seeing,” said Baker.

She did — sending meticulous documentation done different inmate’s message to her family, who sent it to Congresswoman Jackie Speier.

Representative Speier led a legislature delegation to inspect the facility, and aboriginal demanded an probe into the facility’s compliance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA).

The U.S. Government did thing unprecedented — reaching a astir $116 cardinal civilian settlement, paying retired much than 100 inmates of FCI Dublin.

Baker is arrogant of her actions and the accusation she provided that ended up being captious successful gathering evidence, though that aesculapian unit subordinate is not 1 of the 8 charged.

“I inactive person truly atrocious nightmares each azygous night, and I deliberation that’s due to the fact that I cognize my offender is free.”

She says the aesculapian unit subordinate told her helium would find her.

“He’s inactive out, there’s a full clump of them retired there, a clump of offenders,” said Baker.

Courtesy: Kendra Drysdale

Kendra Drysdale says she experienced akin retaliation and over-incarceration aft she tried to study unit misconduct during a pat-down. She sent what should person been a confidential connection to the DOJ — but she says wrong an hour, she was called into a disciplinary proceeding successful the situation and accused of lying.

She says the guards asked her what she wanted to keep, “I’m like, ohio my God delight don’t instrumentality my phone. I speech to my girl each azygous day. And past she said, ‘We’re going to instrumentality your email, we’re going to instrumentality your in-person visits. We’re going to instrumentality your video visits. And past she looked astatine the different (officer) and said, ‘What other tin we instrumentality from her?’ And she said, ‘Well, let’s instrumentality her retired date.’”

The California Coalition for Women’s Prisoners says Drysdale was near successful situation for respective months past the day she was expected to spell home.

“They tried to interruption maine successful here, they tried to interruption each of us,” said Drysdale. “They weren’t successful.”

Darrell 'Dirty Dick' Smith

The women accidental they are devastated aft the events of this week.

One of the astir notorious guards, Darrell “Dirty Dick” Smith, was the past of the 8 officers charged with enactment crimes astatine FCI Dublin to spell to trial. All 7 of the different men person either pleaded blameworthy oregon were recovered guilty, they are awaiting sentencing oregon are already serving up to 96 months successful prison.

Smith was charged successful a 15-count indictment — the astir counts of immoderate of the officers. But aft days of affectional grounds from alleged victims — women coming look to look with the antheral they accidental abused them — earlier this week, a national justice declared a mistrial aft jurors were incapable to scope a verdict. His caller proceedings is present scheduled for September.

Smith maintains his innocence.

The California Coalition for Women’s Prisoners released this connection aft the mistrial:

“Survivors shared highly disturbing grounds implicit the people of days, including however Smith raped and digitally penetrated a fig of them, masturbated portion watching women shower, spanked them, and utilized coercive tactics specified arsenic withholding their message oregon not letting them permission their cells if they would not flash their breasts oregon hold to intersexual encounters with him.”

Aimee Chavira alleges “Dirty Dick” Smith abused her. She says the maltreatment led her to see taking her ain beingness down bars.