Act at the same time he was committing

[shoponhossaiassn]

The case, with shades of MeToo behind bars, is likely to put a spotlight on the Bureau of Prisons, calling into question its handling of sexual abuse complaints from inmates against staff and the vetting process for the people it chooses to run its prisons.

The AP generally does not name people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they consent to being identified. All sexual activity between a prison worker and an inmate is illegal. Correctional employees enjoy substantial power over inmates, controlling every aspect of their lives from mealtime to lights out, and there is no scenario in which an inmate can give consent.

Garcia was promoted from associate warden to warden in November 2020 while he was still abusing inmates, prosecutors say. The Bureau of Prisons has said it didn't find out about the abuse until later. Garcia is the highest-ranking federal prison official arrested in more than 10 years.

The agency's new director, Colette Peters, has reiterated the buy phone number list agency's zero-tolerance policy for staff sexual misconduct and has called for harsher punishment for workers who commit abuse. But as abuse raged at Dublin, the process for reporting it was inherently broken.

Garcia was in charge of staff and inmate training on reporting abuse and complying with the federal Prison Rape Elimination abuse, prosecutors say, and some inmates say they were sent to solitary confinement or other prisons for accusing employees of abuse.

Prosecutors say Garcia tried to keep his victims quiet with promises that he'd help them get early release. He allegedly told one victim he was "close friends" with the prison official responsible for investigating staff misconduct and couldn't be fired. According to an indictment, he said he liked to cavort with inmates because, given their lack of power, they couldn't "ruin him."