Former prison Dublin warden indicted for allegedly having sex with 3 women in custody
Former prison Dublin warden indicted for allegedly having sex with 3 women in custody
A federal grand jury on Tuesday issued an eight-count superseding indictment charging former Warden Ray J. Garcia with seven counts of sexually abusive conduct against three women who were in custody at the Federal Correctional Institute in Dublin.
DUBLIN, Calif. - A federal grand jury on Tuesday issued an eight-count superseding indictment charging former Warden Ray J. Garcia with seven counts of sexually abusive conduct against three women who were in custody at the Federal Correctional Institute in Dublin.
The 55-year-old Garcia, who is out of custody and lives in Merced, was also indicted on one count of lying to government agents last July telling authorities that he never asked women to get naked or touch them inappropriately when in fact he did -- U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds said.
Garcia, whom KTVU obtained a photograph of from about 10 years ago, had already been charged last year with sexually abusing one woman – the new charges brings the total of women to three.
A total of five officers, including Garcia, have now been charged with the sexual abuse of a ward at FCI Dublin since last year.
The superseding indictment further charges Garcia with sexual offenses against two additional women at FCI Dublin from January to July 2021. He is also charged with one count of abusive sexual contact with Victim 3 from March to September 2020.
MORE: Dublin prison guard says she was forced out for reporting abuse
Garcia's attorney, James Thomas Reilly of San Rafael, did not immediately respond for comment on Tuesday.
Garcia has pleaded not guilty to his September 2021 charges: Sexually assaulting one woman, sexually harassing another and keeping naked pictures of one of the women on his work computer. Federal prosecutors allege that at one point, Garcia requested that at least two women strip naked for him while he was doing his rounds.
Garcia then allegedly tried to prevent the woman from coming forward, telling her that he was "close friends" with the person responsible for investigating allegations of misconduct by inmates adding that he could not be fired, according to an FBI affidavit filed with the court. For two years before his arrest, Garcia led training on the Prison Rape Elimination Act and trained all newly arrived supervisors on these procedures and policies.
Garcia retired on Oct. 31, 2021.
Before the superseding indictment, Garcia's case was headed to trial in November.
MORE: Dublin prison has lax security camera oversight despite sex abuse charges
Lisa Fernandez is a reporter for KTVU. Email Lisa at lisa.fernandez@fox.com or call her at 510-874-0139. Or follow her on Twitter @ljfernandez