A Women's Prison Conceals A Sinister Secret: Staff Sexual Misconduct, Accusers Say

Marie was released from situation successful precocious 2023 and tried to put Ross retired of her mind. But it was difficult to move on, she said, because he called her almost each day, telling her he missed nan things they did together. Those things had shattered her self-worth and her semipermanent narration pinch her child’s father, she said. She had ne'er had aggregate intersexual partners, but “I sewage retired and I was conscionable sleeping pinch people. Almost successful a leverage benignant of way,” she said. “’Cause that’s what I learned successful there.”

Before going to prison, she had utilized drugs, and now she relapsed connected methamphetamines. She begged her probation serviceman for help, asking to spell to rehab, she said. Instead, successful 2024, she was sent to a national situation successful Alabama for violating nan position of her release.

Dejected and alone, Marie sewage an unexpected visitant successful prison, she said: a national interrogator who said she was looking into maltreatment allegations against Ross. Marie told her everything.

She hadn’t made nan relationship betwixt her experiences pinch Ross and her unraveling extracurricular of prison. Now, she said, “I realized that what happened wasn’t OK.”

As a national investigation into Ross unfolded that summer, he was allowed to stay astatine work, but different situation workers were assigned to travel him astir nan installation and he wasn’t allowed astir nan women unsupervised, a Bureau of Prisons memo shows and witnesses confirm. Ross acknowledged to The Marshall Project and NBC News that he had been assigned an escort astatine nan situation because of intersexual misconduct allegations against him, but he said he was cleared of wrongdoing and yet allowed to return to his department.

At nan extremity of 2024, while still incarcerated successful Alabama, Marie sued Ross successful national court, accusing him of sexually assaulting her. Ross utilized his leverage complete Marie to “exploit his position of authority,” nan title said. “He made it clear that her occupation was astatine consequence if she did not comply pinch his unwanted intersexual advances.” The title was dismissed aft she didn’t taxable paperwork needed to waive nan $405 filing fee. Ross didn’t respond to a written mobility astir nan lawsuit.

Ross near his occupation astatine Bryan successful March 2025. He said that he discontinue for reasons unrelated to nan misconduct allegations. The Bureau of Prisons wouldn’t opportunity if he had been disciplined.

Three different women who said Ross pressured them into intersexual encounters said they ne'er felt safe capable to study what happened to them.

D’lena said that she knew amended than to show anyone astir nan maltreatment she knowledgeable from a unit personnel who allegedly exploited his position to discourage her from reporting him.Bethany Mollenkof for NBC News

In 2023, D’lena was months distant from leaving situation aft 10 years connected a complaint of conspiracy to nutrient mendacious recognition documents erstwhile she said Ross accused her of not reporting a romanticist narration betwixt 2 different incarcerated women, an discourtesy he told her could get her kicked retired of a supplier program, delaying her release. He groped her, she said, and penetrated her pinch his fingers.

“Just to support him happy,” D’lena, 51, said. “I was not willing successful him, not successful nan slightest bit. I was conscionable successful endurance mode astatine this constituent because I was fresh to spell home.”

People still talked astir nan clip 3 years earlier erstwhile Darlene was shipped to a different installation aft reporting nan chaplain. D’lena said she knew amended than to show anyone.

For immoderate who did effort to study allegations of intersexual misconduct astatine Bryan — some incarcerated women and situation labor — they opportunity it came astatine awesome individual cost.

R. asked not to beryllium named because she is still nether nan Bureau of Prisons’ supervision. In nan summertime of 2022, she was astatine Bryan aft being convicted successful a financial fraud strategy and receiving an eight-year sentence. She was assigned a occupation successful nan prison’s accommodation department, and she and her boss, Jeff Smith, nan caput of nan department, began flirting. Soon, she said, it turned physical.

R., who was incarcerated astatine Bryan, said she felt “kind of thrown away” aft she reported intersexual relationships pinch 2 situation labor and was later moved to a harsher national facility.Bethany Mollenkof for NBC News

R., 50, said she and Smith had activity astir erstwhile a week successful an agency that had a doorway that locked and nary windows. Other times, they met down nan garage, aliases successful his authorities truck.

Five different group astatine Bryan told The Marshall Project and NBC News that her relationship to Smith was an unfastened concealed astatine nan prison.

Smith said successful an emailed missive that nan allegation of a intersexual narration pinch a female astatine Bryan was false.

“These claims person been thoroughly investigated by my employing agency and by nan United States Department of Justice Office of nan Inspector General, and I person been officially cleared of immoderate wrongdoing,” Smith said.

The Bureau of Prisons and nan Department of Justice said they don’t remark connected circumstantial cases.

R. said she initially sought nan encounters pinch Smith. New to prison, she was lonely. After respective months, though, she became uncomfortable because he was married. But she felt she couldn’t extremity nan relationship. Smith was not only her supervisor; he often filled successful for immoderate of nan top-ranking correctional unit astatine nan prison, acting immoderate days arsenic a lieutenant.

“How do you extremity erstwhile personification has that overmuch power of your life?” R. said. “There’s nary measurement I could.”

Ashley Anderson, an serviceman astatine Bryan since 2015, said she noticed a alteration successful R. “She was sick. Laying successful bed, crying,” Anderson recalled. “I would make rounds and I would effort to make her get retired of bed.”

In early 2023, Anderson said R. opened up and confided successful her astir Smith, and Anderson said she alerted situation officials — first a skipper and past nan warden. When, months later, Smith had not been removed from work, Anderson notified nan national situation system’s Office of nan Inspector General. A lieutenant astatine Bryan who said connected nan information she not beryllium named because of an ongoing employment conflict said she besides submitted a study to a skipper astir R. and Smith.

Ashley Anderson, a erstwhile elder serviceman master astatine Federal Prison Camp Bryan.Bethany Mollenkof for NBC News

It wasn’t until July of that twelvemonth that situation officials came to talk to R. astir her allegations regarding Smith. But she didn’t spot nan higher-ups astatine nan prison, and she felt protective of Smith. When officials pressed her, alternatively of formally naming Smith, she told them different secret.

At nan aforesaid clip she was seeing Smith, R. said, a 2nd situation worker began approaching her while she was moving successful a instrumentality room, a mini closetlike space. There, R. said that he touched her breasts, grabbed her crotch and put her manus connected his penis, according to a study written by a intersexual battle examiner astatine nan prison. More than once, she performed oral sex, she told nan caregiver practitioner who did nan exam. The study withheld nan sanction of nan accused unit member.

The bureau past transferred R. to nan national detention halfway successful Houston, a move that she felt was retaliation for talking astir nan 2 men. Bureau documents opportunity that R. was moved because officers successful Bryan had discovered contraband vapes and R. confessed to helping smuggle them in; she says she wasn’t involved.

At Bryan, nan women tin spell extracurricular erstwhile they choose, to locomotion nan way aliases beryllium and talk successful nan grass. Now astatine nan Houston detention center, R. was among group who had committed convulsive crimes, crammed successful a mini compartment down a dense metallic doorway pinch a cellmate and a metallic toilet.

In early 2025, she wrote successful a grievance to situation administrators that “this feels for illustration punishment,” and if she had known she would beryllium moved to a harsher facility, she “would person conscionable not travel forward.” She underlined “not” twice.

Smith and nan 2nd worker are still moving astatine nan prison, a Bureau of Prisons spokesperson confirmed. The 2nd worker denied R.’s allegations and referred questions to situation officials.

Throughout 2024 and 2025, Anderson, nan correctional officer, wrote a bid of progressively disappointment memos to bureau officials, each nan measurement up to nan director, alleging that astatine slightest 5 unit members had sexually abused women incarcerated astatine nan situation while keeping their jobs. Some of them later near Bryan, though nan circumstances are unclear.