Seventh Correctional Officer at Federal Facility in Dublin California Sentenced to Prison for Sexual Abuse of Female Prisoners

OAKLAND – Nakie Nunley, a former correctional officer at FCI Dublin where he supervised prisoners, has been ordered to serve 72 months on prison for sexually abusing five inmates at the Federal Correctional Institute Dublin (FCI Dublin).  This is the seventh correctional officer to be sentenced in connection with the wide-ranging investigation into sexual abuse of the inmates in the prison.  The sentence was handed down by the Hon. Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, United States District Judge.

Nunley, 48, of Fairfield, Calif., pleaded guilty to the charges on September 5, 2023.  Specifically, Nunley pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual abuse of a ward, five counts of abusive sexual contact, and one count of making false statements in connection with the investigation into abuse allegations at FCI Dublin.  In addition to admitting he was guilty of crimes related to his sexual acts and sexual contacts with five separate women, Nunley also describes in his plea agreement how he engaged in sexual acts with two other inmates and how he lied to federal investigators who were investigating allegations regarding his conduct.  

“Nakie Nunley egregiously exploited his authority by sexually abusing multiple incarcerated women and then retaliating against those who blew the whistle,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “As today’s sentence shows, the Justice Department will hold accountable officials who abuse their authority to harm those they are sworn to protect — and will not tolerate retaliation against victims.”

“Rooting out injustice in prisons is difficult work,” said U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey, “but we will not shy away from the task.  I want to thank the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General and the FBI for their continued partnership in prosecuting this case. With their help, we will ensure that prison personnel who violate the rights of inmates are held accountable.”  

“Today’s sentencing holds Nunley accountable for his heinous abuse of his authority by sexually assaulting multiple inmates under his custody and care, and retaliating against his victims by threatening to take away their UNICOR jobs and transfer them to another facility.  The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General will continue to aggressively investigate sexual abuse at FCI Dublin and across the Federal Bureau of Prisons,” said Department of Justice Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz.

“This sentence is the result of the tireless efforts by the FBI and our partners to bring to justice Dublin FCI corrections officers and personnel who abused their positions to commit deplorable crimes,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Tripp. “We continue to work with our partners to protect the safety and civil rights of all individuals and hold public servants accountable when they violate the law and betray public trust.”

At the time that Nunley abused his victims, he was assigned to supervise prisoners who worked for UNICOR, a trade name for the federal prison industries.  All of Nunley’s victims worked at the UNICOR call center at the time he abused them.  

According to his plea agreement, Nunley admitted that between March 2020 and November 2021, he engaged in sexual acts with two prisoners, including having oral and vaginal sex with one victim and digitally penetrating another victim on multiple occasions.  He also admitted that he was guilty of crimes related to his illegal sexual contacts with three other prisoners.  

Further, in addition to his conduct with the five victims that resulted in criminal charges, Nunley admitted he sexually abused two additional prisoners and engaged in inappropriate conduct with multiple other prisoners who worked at UNICOR.  With respect to one victim, Nunley admitted he digitally penetrated her vagina and caused her to touch his penis under his pants, resulting in him ejaculating in her hand.  Further, Nunley admitted he caused another victim to perform oral sex on him.  Moreover, Nunley wrote sexual notes to one of his victims and made sexual comments to multiple additional victims.  

Nunley’s plea agreement also describes how he retaliated against prisoners who complained about his conduct.  For example, the plea agreement describes how one of his victims approached Nunley about his conduct towards another victim.  In response, Nunley threatened her by telling her she could get transferred to another facility and that she could lose her job.  Similarly, Nunley admitted that he told another victim that if she wanted to keep her job at UNICOR, she needed to pull down her underwear and bend over.  When she complied, Nunley slapped her buttocks several times.

In addition to admitting he engaged in illegal and improper conduct towards prisoners, Nunley also admitted in his plea agreement that he lied to federal investigators about sexually abusing his victims and about sending one of his victims sexually explicit notes.

In sum, Nunley was charged by information with four counts of sexual abuse of a ward, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2243(b); five counts of abusive sexual contact, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2244(a)(4); and one count of making false statements to a government agency, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2).  He pleaded guilty to all counts.
            
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Molly K. Priedeman and Andrew Paulson are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Kay Konopaske.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General and the FBI.