United States: FCI Dublin federal prison chaplain sentenced for sexually abusing an inmate he was counseling

Cited record

Sources

U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General (2022) 'Federal Prison Chaplain Sentenced for Sexual Assault and Lying to Federal Agents', Press Release, 31 August 2022.

James Theodore Highhouse, a former chaplain with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, was sentenced in the Northern District of California to 84 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for repeatedly sexually abusing an incarcerated female and lying to federal agents about his misconduct. Highhouse pleaded guilty on February 23, 2022, to two counts of sexual abuse of a ward, two counts of abusive sexual contact, and one count of false statements. From on or about May 15, 2018, through on or about February 9, 2019, Highhouse, while assigned to FCI Dublin, engaged in multiple sexual acts and sexual contact with an inmate he was counseling, despite receiving training on maintaining boundaries with inmates and attending yearly refreshers on sexual abuse and prevention. Once the FBI and the DOJ Office of the Inspector General opened a federal investigation, Highhouse lied to federal agents about his misconduct during a voluntary interview on February 21, 2019, and again on February 3, 2020, when he continued to deny engaging in sexual contact with the victim.

KTVU FOX 2 (2022) "'This is rape:' Judge sentences Dublin prison chaplain to 7 years for sex abuses", 31 August 2022.

U.S. District Court Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. sentenced Highhouse in Oakland, California to seven years, calling the offense 'rape' and stating that sentencing guidelines (which called for under three years) 'seriously underestimate the seriousness' of his conduct. Victims described Highhouse telling them Bible stories to manipulate them into having sex, offering his chaplain office as a location for sexual encounters, and pressuring one woman into intercourse on Veterans Day by telling her she needed to 'serve her country' and on Thanksgiving by telling her to show gratitude. He warned victims that no one would believe them because 'you're an inmate, and I'm a chaplain.'

NBC News (2022) 'Federal prison chaplain pleads guilty to sexually assaulting inmate', 24 February 2022.

Highhouse is the first of five FCI Dublin employees charged in a widening sex-abuse scandal to be sentenced. Prosecutors said he engaged in predatory conduct with at least six women from 2014 to 2019, including one he counseled at a veterans hospital where he worked before joining the Bureau of Prisons.