California's prison system knew staff were sexually abusing women at its two women's prisons and failed to stop it, the Justice Department found

On August 13, 2026, the U.S. Justice Department announced it had reasonable cause to believe the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla and the California Institution for Women in Chino violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments by failing to protect women from sexual abuse and harassment by staff.