DOJ probes Calif. and Maine over transgender housing policies in women’s prisons amid rise in rape reports

The Trump administration has launched federal investigations into California and Maine following allegations of sexual assault and violent harassment linked to policies that house biological males with gender dysphoria in female correctional facilities.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Thursday that it is probing whether the presence of biological males in women’s prisons violates the constitutional rights of female inmates, specifically citing reports of rape and a case of pregnancy resulting from these placements.

Governors Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) and Janet Mills (D-Maine) were officially notified of the investigation, which aims to determine if these state-level housing mandates infringe upon the 8^th and 14^th Amendment protections afforded to the female prison population.

“The Justice Department will investigate whether California engages in a pattern or practice of violating the constitutional rights of female prisoners incarcerated at the California Institution for Women (CIW) in San Bernardino County and the Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF) in Madera County,” the statement read. “The Justice Department also will investigate whether Maine similarly engages in a pattern or practice of violating constitutional rights of women incarcerated at Maine Correctional Center in Windham (MCC Windham).”

 

The investigations were prompted by a California-based campaign led by women’s rights groups Women Are Real and WomanIIWoman. The groups are drawing attention to the slew of ongoing reports of sexual assaults committed by gender dysphoric male inmates against women in correctional facilities.

At the heart of the campaign lies the high-profile legal proceedings involving 52-year-old Tremaine Carroll. The case gained significant attention following charges filed in March, which allege that Carroll — a biological male who identifies as a woman — raped a female inmate, impregnating her, while incarcerated at the Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF) in Chowchilla.

“After his first cellmate became pregnant and was moved to Los Angeles, two other cellmates of his had complained that he had raped them, so we have filed rape charges against this inmate,” said Madera County District Attorney Sally Moreno, who also asserted that “this is a person who is not a woman in any sense of the word.”

  

Carroll was sent to a women’s prison under California Senate Bill 132, the Transgender Respect, Agency, and Dignity Act, signed by Newsom in 2020. A Madera County judge ruled in February that the inmate must be referred to using feminine pronouns.

“California’s Transgender Respect, Agency, and Dignity Act has provided none of these qualities to the female inmates of state prisons who have been forced to share space with biological men who are violent felons,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli of the Central District of California.  “Our Constitution protects women from having their civil rights violated by harmful state legislation wrapped in the language of ‘equity’ and ‘progress.’”

The DOJ further vowed to investigate allegations of the “deprivation of female prisoners’ rights.”

 

“Keeping men out of women’s prisons is not only common sense – it’s a matter of safety and constitutional rights,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi in the DOJ’s statement. “The Trump Administration will not stand by if governors are facilitating the abuse of biological women under the guise of inclusion.”

“Under my leadership, the Civil Rights Division will not allow women incarcerated in jails or prisons to be subject to unconstitutional risks of harm from male inmates,” stated Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. “These investigations will uncover whether the dangerous national trend of housing men in women’s prisons has resulted in violations of women’s constitutional rights.”

In addition to the legal updates, Dhillon shared the formal correspondence dispatched to the two Democrat governors. These letters serve as an official notification that should any constitutional violations be identified within their respective states, the DOJ intends to “attempt to work with the state to remedy those violations.”

 

By phrasing the outreach this way, the DOJ appears to be signaling a preference for collaborative reform over immediate litigation, while still making it clear that federal oversight is actively being applied to state-level operations.