Fourth Calif. federal prison worker charged with sex abuse

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and MICHAEL BALSAMO
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A fourth worker at a federal women’s prison in California has been charged with sexually abusing an inmate. His arrest comes months after the prison’s warden was arrested on similar charges. James Theodore Highhouse was charged Tuesday with sexual abuse of a ward, abusive sexual contact and making false statements to investigators. He’s a corrections worker and chaplain at FCI Dublin. Prosecutors allege Highhouse engaged in sexual acts with a female inmate on multiple occasions between May 2018 and February 2019. They say he then lied to investigators about his actions. It is the latest arrest of an employee in a federal prison system rife with corruption and misconduct.