FIRST ON FOX: Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have introduced new legislation to address a shocking rate of inmate sex crime against federal corrections officers
The Prison Staff Safety Enhancement Act is a response to a Justice Department Inspector General report that found 40% of Federal Bureau of Prisons staffers said they had been sexually attacked by an inmate.
"It is unacceptable that nearly half of Bureau of Prisons staff experience sexual harassment or assault by inmates. The Bureau of Prisons must do more to ensure the safety of corrections officers and to hold perpetrators accountable," said Rep. Laurel Lee, R-Fla., who co-sponsored a new bill to fight it. "The Prison Staff Safety Enhancement Act will provide oversight to the federal prison system and fight these abuses."
WATCHDOG REPORT PAINTS PICTURE OF BUREAU OF PRISONS IN CRISIS
The bill was introduced in the House by Reps. Lee, and Hank Johnson, D-Ga. A Senate version was sponsored by Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., and introduced previously.
Johnson said the incidents have climbed to "unacceptable levels," especially against female officers.
The bill gives the Justice Department's Inspector General a year to conduct a statistical review of sexual assault and harassment cases inflicted on prison guards by inmates in federal prisons, an analysis of the punishments doled out, and then another 180 days to turn over a report to the judiciary committees on each the House and Senate.
After that, the attorney general will be required to create new rules to prevent and reduce such cases and standardize punishments for inmates who attack guards.
"Last year, nearly half of surveyed Bureau of Prisons staff stated they had been sexually harassed or assaulted by an inmate," Sen. Blackburn said. "This statistic is appalling and unacceptable. No federal employee or law enforcement officer should have to fear for their safety when they show up to work, and the Prison Staff Safety Enhancement Act would be an important step forward in ending sexual abuse of prison staff who are simply trying to do their jobs."
The proposal has support from the Fraternal Order of Police.
"The staggering number of documented sexual assault incidents highlights the dangerous environment in which our officers and other staff operate," said FOP President Patrick Yoes said.
The Bureau of Prisons has been under fire for a number of issues in recent years. A plague of inmate suicides, including that of sex trafficking financier Jeffrey Epstein, led to a separate IG investigation and the closure of the Manhattan facility where he was being held.
Federal agents swarmed another facility nearby last month, in Brooklyn, where Sean "Diddy" Combs is being held awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges of his own.
The previous director of the Bureau of Prisons, Michael D. Carvajal, resigned in 2022 amid reports of pervasive crime and corruption in the bureau.
He left months after The Associated Press reported that the Bureau of Prisons "is a hotbed of abuse, graft and corruption, and has turned a blind eye to employees accused of misconduct."
More than 100 BOP workers have been arrested, convicted, or sentenced for crimes since 2019, with one warden being charged with sexual abuse of an inmate.
Fox News' Chris Pandolfo and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
