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GAO Report Finds Rampant Sexual Abuse in Federal Prisons, Most Cases Unresolved

Loaded on Aug. 1, 2026 by Michael Thompson published in Prison Legal News August, 2026, page 48
Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, DOC/BOP misconduct, Corrections Audits, Prison Rape Elimination Act. Location: United States of America.

by Michael Dean Thompson

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), a nonpartisan organization that issues fact-based reports to help guide Congress and federal agencies, was tasked with reviewing the federal Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) efforts to eliminate sexual assaults via compliance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA).

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  1. New Report on Privatized Prison Food Shines a Light on Aramark’s Harmful Practices, by Daniel A. Rosen
  2. From the Editor, by Paul Wright
  3. $30,000 Settlement Reached in Virginia Jail Death That Put Richmond Lockup Under State Oversight, by Chuck Sharman
  4. Ombudsman Report Finds Use of Force Misapplied in Contraband Search, by Michael Thompson
  5. BOP Orders Prison Closures Amid Infrastructure Decay and Staff Shortages, by Jo Ellen Nott
  6. Oregon Reaches $49 Million Settlement with State Prisoners in COVID-19 Class-Action, by Chuck Sharman
  7. Colorado Governor Signs Bill to Expand Earned Time Credits and Other Measures, by Michael Thompson
  8. Ninth Circuit Revives HRDC Challenge to Washington DOC Mail Restrictions, by Chuck Sharman
  9. $4.5 Million Paid by Cook County for Detainee Suicide in Chicago Jail, by Chuck Sharman
  10. Warden Out, Nineteen Guards Administratively Charged in Maryland Prisoner’s Death
  11. Detainees Overpower Guards to Take Control of a North Carolina Jail, by Jo Ellen Nott
  12. At Least Three Guards Charged for Assaulting Two Massachusetts Prisoners
  13. Detroit Pays $5.8 Million to Former State Prisoner Exonerated of Murder After 15 Years, by Chuck Sharman
  14. “Safe Inside” Review Paid for by DOJ Found Prisons Grew Much Deadlier in Five Year-Period, by Michael Thompson
  15. Tuberculosis Outbreak, Protester Shooting at Colorado ICE Lockup
  16. Three Detainees Die in Four Days at the Tarrant County Jail, by Jo Ellen Nott
  17. Colorado Pays $245,000 to Muslim Former Prisoner Shaved by Same Guard Who Cost DOC Earlier Settlement with Jewish Prisoner Denied Kosher Meals, by Chuck Sharman
  18. $3 Million Settlement Reached with BOP for Attorney’s Fees in Sex Abuse Class-Action from Now-Shuttered California “Rape Club”, by Chuck Sharman
  19. $6.35 Million Paid for Ohio Jail Detainee’s Spinal Cord Injury Caused by Guard, by Chuck Sharman
  20. Nevada Prisons Are Facing a Medical Crisis Due to Understaffing, by Jo Ellen Nott
  21. Death of Seattle Detainee—Jailed Despite Not Being “Grounded in Reality”—Costs King County $3.5 Million Settlement, by Chuck Sharman
  22. $3.25 Million Paid by Georgia After Prisoner Bakes to Death in Outdoor Recreation Cage, by Chuck Sharman
  23. $1.2 Million for Elderly Detainee Shoved Out the Door of Sacramento Jail by Guard, by Chuck Sharman
  24. Overtime Cuts Lead to Reduced Programming in California Prisons
  25. New York Ordered to Pay Prisoner $25,000 for Failing to Protect Him from Attack, by Chuck Sharman
  26. Oklahoma County Jail Fails 12th Health Inspection
  27. The Exceptionally High Murder Rate Inside Maryland’s Prisons, by Jo Ellen Nott
  28. Oregon Agrees to $2.3 Million Settlement After Guards Toss Mentally Ill Prisoner in Solitary, Taunt Him Until He Kills Himself, by Chuck Sharman
  29. $13 Million Awarded to Exonerated Illinois Prisoner Tortured to Confess by Corrupt Cops, by Chuck Sharman
  30. San Diego Guard Sentenced for Shoving a Shackled Detainee
  31. Tenth Circuit: Colorado Governor Unentitled to Eleventh Amendment Immunity on Claim Related to DOC Religious Policies, by David Reutter
  32. Prison Policy Initiative Updates Its “Money of Mass Incarceration” Report, by Michael Thompson
  33. Airconditioning Failure at Troubled ICE Detention Center in New Jersey, by Jo Ellen Nott
  34. $10.19 Million Paid for Retired California Prison Guard’s Death in Colorado Jail, by Chuck Sharman
  35. Judge Grants Attorney’s Motion to Withdrawal from Corizon Health Case Due to Non-Payment, by Douglas Ankney
  36. Michigan Appeals Court: Witnesses Cannot be Forced to Wear Jail Clothes at Trial, by David Reutter
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  40. Audit of Louisiana DOC Finds Fault with Prisoner Release Calculation System, by Douglas Ankney
  41. GAO Report Finds Rampant Sexual Abuse in Federal Prisons, Most Cases Unresolved, by Michael Thompson
  42. Court Records Reveal Alabama DOC Guard Ignored Stabbed Prisoner, by Michael Thompson
  43. Seventh Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Detectives Who Revealed Prisoner Was Informant, Denies Him Anonymity, by Matthew Clarke
  44. Seventh Circuit Holds Federal Law Prohibits County Jail from Forcing Immigration Detainees to Perform Custodial Labor by Threatening Solitary Confinement, by Matthew Clarke
  45. New York Closes Rikers Infirmary as Broader Jail Shutdown Plan Stalls, by Jo Ellen Nott
  46. Report Shows Pattern of Sexual Assaults in Santa Clara County Jail, by Michael Thompson
  47. New Mexico Supreme Court Holds Corrections Department Regulations Do Not Exempt Use-Of-Force Documents from Public Records Disclosure, by Matthew Clarke
  48. Jail Oversight Body Stalled by New York Governor, by Michael Thompson
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  50. Fourth Circuit Affirms Damages Class Certification in Opioid Treatment Denial, by Michael Thompson
  51. Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of State-Law Qualified Immunity in Scabies Case, by David Reutter
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  57. News in Brief

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