Prison sex abuse must be rooted out, Justice official says

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and MICHAEL R. SISAK
Associated Press

AURORA, Colo. (AP) — Sexual abuse in the nation’s federal prisons must be rooted out. That’s the message the Justice Department’s second-highest-ranking leader carried to prison wardens gathered for their first nationwide training since revelations that a toxic, permissive culture at a California prison allowed abuse to run rampant. The Associated Press gained exclusive access to the training for wardens of the country’s 122 federal prisons. It was the first since an AP investigation uncovered deep, previously unreported flaws within the federal Bureau of Prisons. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco says teams of experts and officials will soon be fanning out to women’s prisons around the country to follow up on reforms the agency adopted last fall.