Clovis Man Latest Federal Guard Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

A former federal correctional officer from Clovis received an eight-year sentence Thursday for sexually abusing three female inmates while he supervised kitchen staff at the prison in Dublin.

Andrew Jones, 36, pleaded guilty to the charges on Aug. 17. U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland imposed the sentence.

“The egregious sexual abuse that took place at FCI Dublin was disgraceful and tragic, and the Justice Department will not rest until we have eliminated such misconduct from the Federal Bureau of Prisons,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco in a news release.

“As the defendant’s guilty plea and today’s sentencing demonstrate, FBOP employees who abuse their positions of authority and assault those in their custody will be held to account.”

Jones is the fourth former Dublin guard to be sentenced for sexually abusing inmates.

The prison’s former warden, Ray J. Garcia, 55, of Merced was sentenced to 70 months in prison, 15 years of supervised release, and $15,000 in restitution after his conviction last year for sexually abusive conduct against three female inmates.

Ray J. Garcia leaves the Federal Courthouse in Oakland, Monday, Nov. 28, 2022. Garcia, the former warden of an abuse-plagued federal women’s prison known as the “rape club,” was convicted of molesting inmates and forcing them to pose naked in their cells. (AP File)

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Seven Prison Guards Convicted of Sexual Abuse

Thus far, seven correctional officers have been convicted of felony sexual abuse of female inmates, and an eighth employee has been charged with similar conduct.

“To be clear, this investigation is not over – correctional officers at FCI Dublin are trusted to secure the safety of inmates at the institution; the Department of Justice will continue to hold accountable any correctional officer who violates that solemn responsibility,” said U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey for the Northern District of California.

Under a plea agreement, Jones admitted that, between July 2020 and June 2021, he received oral sex or had sexual intercourse with three female prisoners who worked for him in the FCI Dublin kitchen.

In a memorandum filed before Jones’ sentencing, prosecutors said that Jones “enforced silence and obedience” from the prisoners by using “violence and threats of violence.”

AP Investigation Into Dublin Prison

A 2022 investigation by the Associated Press reported a “permissive and toxic culture…of sexual misconduct by predatory employees.”

DCI Dublin is a low-security prison for women. Among the inmates it has housed are Patricia Hearst, “Hollywood Madam” Heidi Fleiss, college admissions scandal television celebrities Felicity Huffman and Lori Laughlin, and Allison Mack, who pleaded guilty to racketeering for her involvement in the sex cult NXIVM.