Fifth Former Employee Of East Bay Women’s Prison Convicted Of Sex Abuse Of Inmates

A fifth employee of the federal prison in Dublin has been convicted of sexually abusing inmates, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Tuesday.

John Russell Bellhouse, 40, was accused of sex crimes involving inmates from 2018 to 2021 at the Federal Correctional Institute in Dublin and was convicted on five counts against two female inmates.

Bellhouse, a former corrections officer from Pleasanton, was initially charged with sexual abuse of an inmate in February 2022. A federal grand jury issued a superseding indictment on Sept. 29, 2022, charging him with two counts of sexual abuse and three counts of abusive sexual contact. A jury convicted him on all counts.

“As an officer in a federal correction facility, Bellhouse had an obligation to ensure the safety of all the persons serving their sentences,” said U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey. “Instead, Bellhouse used the power entrusted to him to serve his own corrupt purposes.”

Darrell Wayne Smith, another former federal corrections officer accused of sexually abusing inmates at an East Bay women’s prison, made his first court appearance May 26 after a jury indicted him on 12 counts, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

Smith, 54, now residing in Florida, is accused of sexually abusing three female inmates at the Dublin facility between May 2019 and May 2021.

The indictment describes Smith allegedly engaging in illegal sexual contact and acts with the victims, including by use of force.

Prosecutors have previously convicted four other employees of the Dublin facility for using their power to sexually assault inmates.

Ray Garcia, the former warden there, was sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison in March for sexually abusing three female inmates and then lying about it to investigators.

During Garcia’s sentencing, the judge referred to the Dublin facility under his watch as a “cesspool.”

Former prison chaplain James Highhouse was given over seven years in federal prison last August for forcing inmates to have sex with him.

In February, a former corrections officer, Enrique Chavez, was sentenced to 20 months for abusive sexual contact with an inmate in 2020. That same month, Ross Klinger, another guard caught up in the scandal, pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual abuse stemming from 2020.

Bellhouse’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 30. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 36 years in prison. He remains out of custody until sentencing, prosecutors said.