Warden of female prison where celebs served time charged with sexually abusing inmate

The warden of the all-female federal prison in the East Bay where Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin recently served time has been charged with sexually abusing an inmate.

Federal prosecutors unsealed charges Wednesday accusing Ray J. Garcia of repeatedly sexually assaulting one inmate of the Federal Correctional Institute in Dublin, sexually harassing another inmate and storing pictures on his Bureau of Prisons work computer that showed the assault victim naked in her cell.

Garcia, 54, is accused of digitally penetrating a female inmate on multiple occasions while he was the associate warden. In that capacity, Garcia had disciplinary authority over the women inside the prison, one of a handful of all-female facilities in the federal correctional system.

According to the complaint, Garcia physically assaulted the woman, and when she pushed his hand away, he placed her hand on his genitals.

Garcia, a Merced resident, also asked her and at least one other inmate to strip naked for him when he made his rounds, prosecutors say, adding that he also displayed photos of his genitals to the women he is accused of assaulting.

Prosecutors say that in order to prevent the inmate from reporting his behavior, Garcia told her that he was “close friends” with the person responsible for investigating allegations of misconduct by inmates and that he could not be fired.

A search of Garcia’s work cellphone and computer yielded hundreds of sexually graphic photographs, including images of male and female genitalia and nude photographs of Garcia, according to court records.

Garcia was placed on administrative leave in July in connection with the investigation. He is being held without bail in Alameda County’s Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, according to jail records. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

During Garcia’s tenure at the prison, Loughlin served two months for her conviction in the college admissions scandal. Huffman served 11 days at the low-security prison following her conviction in the same “Varsity Blues” scandal.

Garcia is the second Dublin prison official charged with sexual abuse. In June, correctional guard Ross Klinger, 36, was charged with sexually abusing two inmates.

According to federal prosecutors, Klinger had sex with at least one inmate between April and October 2020, continuing after she was transferred to a halfway house in San Diego, and also was sexually involved with a second inmate. .

Prosecutors allege Klinger told both inmates that he wanted to father their children and that he made planned to marry them. He also allegedly gave the women and their families money and gifts.

Other officers have been accused in civil litigation of abuses at the prison.

In 2019, an inmate sued the prison alleging a male correctional officer sexually abused her and that two of his colleagues helped him cover it up for a year before eventually reporting it.

The woman said she was at a work camp at the prison when a guard took her to secluded areas to sexually assault her. The individuals named in the lawsuit have not been charged.