By Richard Winton | LA Times
Federal prosecutors on Wednesday announced a civil rights investigation into sexual abuse of women behind bars in two California prisons, citing numerous reports of groping, inappropriate touching and rape by correctional workers.
The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation violated the rights of women at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla and the California Institution for Women in Chino by failing to protect them from sexual abuse by prison staff.
The move comes after dozens of women held at the two prisons in the last two years brought multiple lawsuits against the corrections department, alleging that they were subjected to sexual harassment, molestation and rape by prison staff under the color of authority.
Read more at: LA Times
