Tucked in a residential neighborhood of bungalows and crape myrtle trees, the federal women’s prison in Bryan, Texas, doesn’t look like a traditional lockup. The women live in dormitory-style rooms without doors. In khaki uniforms and boots, some of the country’s most high-profile prisoners move freely between buildings for meals, work programs and recreation. But as sprawling and open as Federal Prison Camp Bryan appears, some women and staff whistleblowers say the minimum-security facility conceals a sinister secret: inescapable sexual misconduct, and punishments for those who try to report the abuse. Six women who were incarcerated at Bryan since 2020 told The Marshall Project and NBC News that staff members pressured them into unwanted sex acts in deserted corners where there were no security cameras or witnesses. Two more women said staff members groped them or touched them inappropriately. “Looking back, I wish I did a hundred things, you know, kick him, scream, cry, whatever,” said Darlene, 32, who alleges a prison chaplain sexually abused her in the chapel and in a closet after months of grooming her with compliments and hugs. Once, she said, he cornered her in a bathroom and reached into her underwear. She said she reported him to a correctional officer and a captain in early 2020 and also spoke to a Bureau of Prisons investigator but doesn’t know what happened to the report. Darlene is one of several women incarcerated at Bryan, who, along with three former staff members, say they faced retribution or…Read more