A former prison warden at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin was indicted on Tuesday on allegations of sexually abusive conduct towards female prisoners and lying to government agents about it, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
Ray J. Garcia, 55, of Merced, was employed as the warden in the all-female, low security federal correctional facility in Alameda County. He has been charged with seven counts of sexually abusive conduct towards three women and one count of making false statements to government agents.
Garcia was initially charged by a complaint filed in September of 2021 that alleged he committed one count of sex abuse of a ward. He was then indicted by a grand jury in November of 2021 on two counts of of sexual abuse of a ward identified as "Victim 1." She was a female inmate serving a sentence at the Dublin facility.
On Tuesday, a superseding indictment was added charges Garcia with sexual offenses against two additional female inmates, identified as Victim 2 and Victim 3.
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Garcia is charged with making false statements to a government agency about the alleged abuse. Garcia allegedly told agents that he never asked inmates to be undressed for him at a specific time nor had he ever touched an inmate inappropriately. The charge alleges that he knew these statements to be false because he had allegedly asked "multiple" inmates to undress for him at a specific time and had allegedly touched all three victims in a sexual manner.
A jury trial for Garcia is scheduled for Nov. 21 and he is currently out of custody, the DOJ said.
If convicted, Garcia is facing a maximum sentence of 60 years if found guilty and given the maximum sentences for each count.
