The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) is a federal law, Public Law 108-79, signed into law in September 2003 by the President of the United States and now designated as 42 USC 15601.
PREA establishes a zero-tolerance standard against sexual abuse of incarcerated persons of any age. This makes the prevention of sexual abuse at Gulf Coast Trades Center a top priority.
PREA sets a standard that protects the Eighth Amendment rights (Constitutional right prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment) of federal, state, and local youth offenders.
It increases the collection of nationwide data on sexual misconduct and sexual assault on confined persons. It increases accountability for administrators who fail to prevent, reduce, and punish sexual misconduct and sexual assaults.
Federal Law:
PREA is the first United States Federal Law passed dealing with sexual abuse of incarcerated persons. The bill was signed into law on September 4, 2003, and the standards were published in the Federal Register on June 20, 2012 and became effective on August 20, 2012. PREA covers all adult as well as juvenile detention facilities. The definition of "prison" for the purposes of this act includes, "any juvenile facility used for the custody or care of juvenile inmates."
PREA defines "prison" quite broadly. Within the context of PREA, prison is defined as "any federal, state, or local confinement facility, including local jails, police lockups, juvenile facilities, and state and federal prisons". Thus short-term lockups, such as holding facilities and local jails, regardless of size, are also subject to the provisions of PREA.
A copy of the federal PREA law, Public Law 108-79, codified as 42 USC 15601 can be found on the following website: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-108publ79/pdf/PLAW-108publ79.pdf
A copy of the Federal Register, June 20, 2012, Vol. 77, "Final Rule of the PREA Standards, 28 CFR Part 115" can be found on the following website: http://www.prearesourcecenter.org
Texas Law:
Texas has a specific criminal law for employees and or agents who sexually abuse confined persons as related to the prosecution of PREA-related incidents. The links to these penal codes are as follows:
Texas Penal Code, Title 8. Offenses Against Public Administration, Ch. 39. Abuse of Office:
http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/PE/htm/PE.39.htm
Texas Penal Code, Title 5. Offenses Against The Person, Ch. 21. Sexual Offenses:
http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/PE/htm/PE.21.htm
Texas Penal Code, Title 5. Offenses Against The Person, Ch. 22 Assaultive Offenses:
http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/PE/htm/PE.22.htm
PREA at GCTC:
At GCTC we are committed to a safe environment that will be PREA violation-free. On this page, we list all annual reports as required by PREA standards. To view the site’s PREA report, click here.
We have an anonymous phone tip line where you can report any violation. The phone number is (936) 344-7830. In addition to this phone line, you can also send an anonymous email to this address: [email protected]
You can also choose to report an incident to TDFPS at (800) 252-5400 or TJJD at (855) 468-7330
