photo credit: By Jesstess87 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=90796484
The former warden of a women’s prison in Dublin was convicted Thursday of crimes involving sexually abusive conduct against three inmates and of lying to federal agents, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Ray Garcia, 55, of Merced, was convicted of sexual abuse and abusive sexual contact with one victim and abusive sexual contact with two others over the period of December 2019 to July 2021.
Garcia was also convicted of making false statements to government agents on July 22, 2021, according to prosecutors.
“Today’s guilty verdict is one important step in our ongoing efforts to root out sexual misconduct within the Bureau of Prisons,” U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement. “It also delivers justice to the victims in this case.”
Monaco said the victims were abused repeatedly and subjected to Garcia’s “gross exploitation of power.”
Garcia was responsible for assuring for the care and welfare of the people incarcerated at Federal Correctional Institute Dublin, U.S. Attorney Stephanie Hinds said.
Garcia was also responsible for demonstrating to employees that illegal and unethical behavior by prison officials “would not be tolerated,” Hinds said.
Instead, Garcia used his power “to prey sexually upon female inmates under his control,” Hinds said.
