The Trump administration is launching an investigation into trans women in women\u2019s prisons in California and Maine \u2014 as a law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom has led to horrific allegations of rape and harassment in the Golden State, the California Post has learned.<\/p>\n
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is set to fire off letters to Newsom and fellow Dem leader, Gov. Janet Mills, about the impending probe, Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the Justice Department, confirmed Thursday.<\/p>\n
The focus of the investigation will be on the California Institution for Women in San Bernardino County, the Central California Women\u2019s Facility in Madera County, and the Maine Correctional Center in Windham \u2014 which have all been at the center of shocking trans rape allegations.<\/p>\n
Officials say the probe will examine whether the two states have violated the constitutional rights of female inmates by placing them alongside male prisoners.<\/p>\n
Harmeet Dhillon announced an investigation into trans inmates. Getty Images<\/p>\n
Newsom \u2014 who has waxed lyrical about helping California be a \u201csanctuary\u201d for women<\/a> \u2014 signed a bill in 2020 allowing incarcerated transgender, non-binary and intersex people to be housed according to their gender identity.<\/a><\/p>\n A billboard campaign launched across the Golden State<\/a> by two women\u2019s rights groups earlier this year took aim at the legislation, Senate Bill 132, and demanded that the concerning rise in\u00a0trans prisoners raping women<\/a> be addressed.<\/p>\n The campaign, organized by Women Are Real and WomaniiWoman, advocates for better scrutiny of biological male inmates housed in women\u2019s prisons under the bill \u2013 and draws attention to the upcoming rape trial of\u00a0trans prisoner Tremaine Carroll<\/a>.<\/p>\n Carroll, 52, was transferred to the Central California Women\u2019s Facility in Chowchilla in 2021 after serving more than 22 years in the men\u2019s prison \u2014 because he claimed to be a woman, The Hill reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Since being housed with women because of SB 132, which went into effect in 2021, he has been charged with raping three women.<\/p>\n Prosecutors say one female cellmate became pregnant.<\/p>\n There were 2,405 inmates in the California state prison system who identified as transgender, non-binary, and intersex as of February 2026, according to records. It was unclear how many trans women were being housed in women\u2019s facilities. <\/p>\n Tremaine Carroll was accused of raping women at a women\u2019s prison after identifying as a female. CDC<\/p>\n Federal investigators probing California will look into allegations that female prisoners have been subjected to sexual assault, rape, voyeurism and intimidation linked to the presence of male inmates.<\/p>\n They will also assess potential violations of First Amendment protections, the Eighth Amendment\u2019s ban on cruel and unusual punishment, and the Fourteenth Amendment\u2019s Equal Protection Clause.<\/p>\n \u201cThese investigations will uncover whether the dangerous national trend of housing men in women\u2019s prisons has resulted in violations of women\u2019s constitutional rights,\u201d Dhillon said.<\/p>\n The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation claims that housing requests from inmates who identify as trans are reviewed by a classification committee rather than granted automatically.<\/p>\n Critics of the law say it enables male prisoners to exploit the system in order to be housed with women.<\/p>\n \u201cKeeping men out of women\u2019s prisons is not only common sense \u2013 it\u2019s a matter of safety and constitutional rights,\u201d Attorney General Pamela Bondi said. <\/p>\n \u201cThe Trump Administration will not stand by if governors are facilitating the abuse of biological women under the guise of inclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n Andrea Taney Balcer is accused of terrorizing fellow inmates in Maine. Maine DOC<\/p>\n First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli of the Central District of California also blasted the Newson law.<\/p>\n \u201cCalifornia\u2019s 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,\u201d Essayli said in a statement.<\/p>\n The DOJ said it is also gathering info on trans prison inmates elsewhere in America.<\/p>\n The Trump administration has already pulled all \u201dnon-essential\u201d funding to Maine\u2019s prison system after allowing convicted double murderer and trans woman Andrea Balcer to live in a women\u2019s prison.<\/p>\n Balcer was convicted of stabbing his mom and stepfather to death in 2018. He went by Andrew at the time of the crime in October 2016.<\/p>\n He is now being housed at Maine Correctional Center in Windham because the state also allows inmates to live amongst the population they identify with after being assessed by a doctors. <\/p>\n The decision was made under Maine\u2019s Human Rights Act, which outlaws any discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation.<\/p>\n Andrea Balcer before being sentenced to 40 years for killing her parents on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2018(AP) AP<\/p>\n Balcer has since been accused of a number of sexual attacks on women since moving from the male prison to the female one in 2021.<\/p>\n The 27 year old, who stands at 6 feet tall and weighs 300 pounds, has been accused of forcibly kissing other women, propositioning them and offering to impregnant them, the Sun-Journal has reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Women who had faced Balcer\u2019s attacks say their complaints are ignored by authorities.<\/p>\n The US Attorney for the District of Maine, Andrew B. Benson, insisted his office would help the Justice Department.<\/p>\n \u201cIncarcerated individuals can be particularly susceptible to having their rights violated,\u201d Benson said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cThe US Attorney\u2019s Office is committed to protecting the civil rights of all Maine citizens, no matter where they live, and will work with our colleagues in the Civil Rights Division to ensure that this vulnerable population is protected from harm while housed in state custody.\u201d<\/p>\n Recent prison mugshot of Andrea Balcer Maine DOC<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a Madera County judge ruled in December 2024 Carroll must be referred to using she\/her\u00a0pronouns because Carroll identifies as a woman.<\/p>\n Madera County District Attorney Sally Moreno slammed the decision at the time, saying the defendant is abusing California\u2019s prison housing law and said the pronoun ruling risks confusing jurors and complicating the prosecution.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a particular issue in this case because it\u2019s confusing to the jury. In California, rape is a crime that has to be accomplished by a man,\u201d Moreno told ABC7<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no psychological evaluation required. This person does not need to be on cross-gender hormones. They don\u2019t need to be signed up for transgender surgery. They don\u2019t need a psychological evaluation regarding gender confusion. The mere statement is enough.\u201d<\/p>\n