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Ray J. Garcia, 55 was allegedly running a rape club within the all-female low-security Federal Correctional Institute Dublin (FCI Dublin) California women’s prison. The former warden is charged with seven counts of sexual abuse conduct and one count of false testimony to the FBI. 

The trial started Monday at the U.S. District Court in Oakland, where six female inmates are scheduled to testify this week.

Garcia and five of his staff officers are charged with a myriad of sex-related crimes. He and John Bellhouse both plead not guilty.

Former prison chaplain James Highhouse was sentenced to a seven-year prison term in September. 

Officer Ross Klinger and former prison cook plead guilty to the crime of sexual abuse of a ward. 

https://youtu.be/sFwK-kz7oPk

Club Fed becomes Rape Club

FCI Dublin is about 20 miles southeast of Oakland. And the facility can accommodate 650 inmates.

In the nineties, the prison was referred to as “Club Fed” because it housed so many celebrities and was minimum security. Patty Hearst and Hollywood Madam Heidi Fleiss both served time there. 

More recently, other female celebrities have been incarcerated at FCI Dublin. Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman served short sentences in connection to the college admissions scandal. 

Smallville actress Allison Mack started her 3-year sentence for her role in the NXIVM cult conspiracy in May 2021. And Garcia was removed from his post in June 2021.

The court heard how Garcia and his staff were so open about their activities that inmates started to refer to it as “rape club.” 

Abuse of power

Prosecutors are using images on Garcia’s government-issued phone as evidence. And Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers ordered that only the jury get to see the photos discussed at trial. 

 The sexual abuse typically took place away from the view of security cameras. Prosecutors say Garcia sexually abused the women inmates where there were no cameras. Much of the sexual abuse took place in women's bathrooms.

Garcia had pictures of his own penis which he showed to his victims, and he also has naked pictures of inmates in their cells which he took on his phone in 2021.

The former warden's lawyer, James Reilly, told the jury his client will testify on his behalf. 

Garcia’s arrest came in September 2021, as a result of a yearlong investigation by the FBI. He’s the highest-ranking federal prison official arrested in over a decade. He faces a maximum sentence of over 100 years. And if found guilty, may have to pay fines of up to $250,000.