GAO says federal prison PREA audits can miss ongoing abuse
A federal watchdog says the audits used to assess sexual-abuse prevention in federal prisons can certify formal compliance without being designed to uncover all abuse occurring inside a facility.
The finding comes from a May 5, 2026 report by the Government Accountability Office, which reviewed how the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Justice Department administer audits under the Prison Rape Elimination Act, or PREA.
What the audits examine
Federal facilities undergo PREA audits at least once every three years. The reviews determine whether institutions comply with national standards issued by the Justice Department in 2012.
Auditors examine policies, documentation, reporting channels, data, interviews and facility conditions. But GAO found that auditors are not specifically instructed to detect ongoing sexual abuse. The review is therefore a compliance assessment, not a comprehensive criminal investigation or guarantee that a facility is free of abuse.
GAO reported that some facilities passed audits despite what the report described as widespread ongoing sexual abuse. That finding does not mean every facility that passed an audit had abuse occurring there. It does show why a passing result cannot be treated as proof of safety.
Why oversight can fall short
The report identified several weaknesses in the audit system. GAO raised concerns about the Bureau of Prisons’ approach to contracting for audits, including a potential conflict between contract terms and the PREA Auditor Handbook’s expectations for how much time auditors should spend onsite. GAO said that could leave auditors with insufficient time for tasks such as interviewing incarcerated people and staff.
Auditors also reported challenges obtaining BOP documentation. GAO said the bureau had implemented a new file-sharing system but had not yet evaluated whether it solved the access problem.
The Justice Department’s PREA standards have not been updated since they were issued in 2012, even as technology, correctional practices and lessons from implementation have changed.
GAO cited approximately 8,500 reported federal-prison sexual-abuse allegations from 2014 through 2022, the latest period for which aggregate data were available in that analysis. Those are allegations, not findings that abuse was proven. Other portions of the report analyze additional BOP data through 2024.
Recent examples show separate accountability tracks
The GAO report says BOP officials reported that the most recent full audit cycle concluded at the end of July 2025. BOP has continued posting individual facility audit reports publicly in 2026, including an outside-contractor report listed for Federal Prison Camp Yankton on July 15.
That posting was separate from a July 15 announcement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York that a former correctional officer at Federal Correctional Institution Otisville had been charged with three counts of sexual abuse of a ward.
According to the indictment, the former officer allegedly engaged in sexual acts with an incarcerated person under his authority. The charges are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The criminal case is a separate accountability process from a PREA audit; neither a facility audit nor an indictment by itself establishes criminal guilt or resolves every question about prison conditions.
What happens next
The Justice Department agreed with all seven recommendations in the GAO report, but GAO lists each recommendation as open. The recommendations include improving the audit process, addressing risks in audit contracts, evaluating access to records, analyzing facility-level data, publishing more uniform data and reviewing the national PREA standards.
The central oversight question is whether DOJ changes the audit process so auditors are tasked and equipped to identify ongoing abuse, rather than primarily assessing policies and paperwork.
Families, incarcerated people and staff reviewing a facility’s PREA report should read it as a compliance document. It can show whether required systems and procedures were reviewed, but it should not be read as a guarantee that no abuse is occurring.
Sources
- GAO report on federal prison sexual-abuse oversight
- GAO full report
- BOP FPC Yankton PREA report listing
- DOJ charging announcement in the Otisville case
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