Rep. Veasey Urges House Judiciary Committee to Investigate Bureau of Prisons Handling of Prisons With High Number of Sexual Abuse Claims

Press Release

This week, Rep. Veasey urged the House Committee on Judiciary to hold an oversight hearing in North Texas to examine the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) handling of prisons with reports of high sexual misconduct and coverups. Veasey's letter comes in direct response to a Fort Worth Star-Telegram investigation which revealed that Fort Worth's FMC Carswell prison had the highest number of sexual abuse claims out of all U.S. women's prisons.

"We have an obligation to protect the health, rights, and safety of all incarcerated individuals in our nation's prisons," said Rep. Veasey. "But that has clearly not been the case at the FMC Carswell facility in the district I represent--and in many other prisons across the country--where there have been reports of rampant sexual assault and abuse of women prisoners by staff."

"That is why I am formally requesting that leaders from the House Judiciary Committee hold a hearing in North Texas to hear directly from the Bureau of Prisons about how the agency investigates sexual abuse claims in federal prisons. I will continue to do everything in my power to hold prisons accountable for these heinous actions and advocate for legislation to prevent incidents like these from happening again," continued Rep. Veasey (TX-33).

The Fort Worth Star Telegram's investigation revealed a consistent pattern of sexual misconduct and cover-ups at FMC Carswell prison. The investigation revealed that from 2014 to 2018, the prison had the highest number of allegations of sexual assault and abuse of women by staff at any federal prison.

The full letter can be found below.

Dear Chairman Nadler and Subcommittee Chair Lee,

I write to urge the House Committee on Judiciary, with the guidance of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, to hold a hearing in North Texas examining the Federal Bureau of Prisons' (BOP) handling of prisons with a high number of sexual misconduct and coverups by correctional staff.

North Texas would be the ideal location as this month, the Star-Telegram published a months-long investigation into Fort Worth's FMC Carswell, the only federal medical facility for women in the United States. Recent U.S. Bureau of Prisons data shows that between 2014--2018 this facility had the highest number of allegations of sexual assault and abuse of women by staff at any federal prison in the country. Unfortunately, these numbers may likely even be worse than records show due to women's fear of retaliation for speaking out against this egregious misconduct.

I am deeply disturbed by these reports and strongly believe the stories of the victims merit further investigation on a national scale. Prisoners should never face sexual assault as part of their sentence and the Department of Justice agrees. Just a few weeks ago the Department of Justice released its "FYs 2022-2026 Strategic Plan" which outlines a series of strategies to "maintain a safe and humane prison system." I strongly believe now would be an appropriate time to hear directly from the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Prisons on these efforts and the role each plays to thoroughly investigate allegations of improper conduct or adverse conditions at institutions.

The mission of the Department of Justice is to uphold the rule of law, to keep our country safe, and to protect civil rights. These responsibilities should be no different in our federal prisons and in our pretrial detention systems. The BOP has a constitutional requirement to protect the health and safety of all individuals in its charge. I urge the Committee to expeditiously hold a field hearing to hear directly from the BOP on how it is actively addressing inappropriate behavior by staff in our federal prisons.

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