FCI Dublin officer 'Dirty Dick' will not take the stand, closing arguments
The former FCI Dublin prison guards charged and convicted of sex crimes.
OAKLAND, Calif. - A former FCI Dublin correctional officer nicknamed "Dirty Dick" will not take the stand in his own defense, as closing arguments in his sexual abuse case are expected to take place on Monday in federal court.
Darrell Wayne Smith is expected to announce his decision when his trial resumes in the Oakland courtroom of U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. He is formally named "Dirty Dick" in court documents filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Federal prosecutors charged Smith in a 15-count indictment of abusing five women. The exact charges are abusive sexual contact, sexual abuse of a ward, aggravated sexual abuse and deprivation of rights under color of law.
During the trial, multiple women testified that Smith peeled back shower curtains to masturbate at the prison, spanked them in their cells and withheld their mail if they wouldn't flash their breasts or have sexual encounters with him. They also testified he often wore a cowboy outfit to work as a prison guard.
He has maintained his innocence.
His defense team called some formerly incarcerated women who testified that Smith wasn't that bad and that some women exaggerated their sexual abuse claims.
Smith is charged with the most counts of the seven other former FCI Dublin correctional officers also charged with various sex crimes. He is the last of the eight to go to trial, which began March 17.
Of the eight correctional officers charged with similar sex crimes at FCI Dublin – the most of any other prison in the country – five have pleaded guilty and two were found guilty by a jury, including former Warden Ray Garcia, who is serving a nearly six-year prison sentence.
The Bureau of Prisons announced it would shut down FCI Dublin in April 2024 after the former director said the agency couldn't fix the problems or the culture there.