Nearly $116M to be paid by Justice Department to inmates who were sexually abused at a California prison known as the 'rape club'
On average, each victim receives a settlement of $1.1 million.
Almost $116 million has been ordered to be paid by the Justice Department to 103 women who allege they were abused at the now-closed Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, commonly known as the "rape club."
On Tuesday, the settlement was approved, with an average of $1.1 million to be awarded to each woman who filed a lawsuit against the prison for mistreatment and sexual abuse by staff.
Aimee Chavira, a former Dublin prisoner and lawsuit plaintiff, stated to The Associated Press that although they were sentenced to prison, they were not sentenced to be assaulted and abused.
"I hope this settlement will aid survivors, including myself, in the healing process, but it will not undo the harm inflicted by BOP or release those who remain imprisoned or reunite those who were deported and separated from their loved ones," she stated.
Seven former employees of the prison, including its ex-warden Ray Garcia, are now imprisoned for sexually abusing inmates.
Darrell Wayne Smith, the eighth remaining correctional officer, is facing trial on 12 charges of sexual abuse.
According to one of the women's lawyers, Jessica Pride, this is the largest settlement ever paid to incarcerated women by the DOJ.
According to The AP, Pride stated that if it were up to her, the amount would be "ten times as much" because there is "no amount that you can place on what a survivor goes through in being sexually assaulted."
According to Pride, the amount each victim received from the settlement was determined based on the trauma they experienced and the number of times they were abused, as assessed through interviews.
A class-action lawsuit has been filed by the California Coalition of Women Prisoners on behalf of approximately 500 women who were previously housed at FCI Dublin, seeking court-ordered reform that could benefit them in the future.
The Bureau of Prisons permanently closed the facility in April.
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