Male guards at Elizabeth Holmes prison in Texas conducted shower checks, an ex-convict claims
An ex-convict at the Texas Women’s Prison, where founder Elizabeth Holmes is serving an 11-year sentence, claims male prison guards “performed shower checks.”
Lynn Espejo, who spent two years in Bryan Federal Prison Camp from 2018 to 2020, shared the stunning allegations in a blog, “Inside-The-Walls: My Journey Through the Federal Criminal Justice System.”
The former inmate claims prison guards barged into the shower room as part of a prison strategy to crack down on consensual sexual contact between inmates.
Holmes, 39, reported to minimum security prison on Tuesday after being charged with four counts of wire fraud for defrauding investors with her Silicon Valley startup Theranos, a blood testing company.
She will be housed in the same federal prison as former reality TV star Jen Shah from The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. Shah is serving a six-and-a-half year prison sentence for her role in a nationwide telemarketing program targeting the elderly and vulnerable and has been in jail since February.
When DailyMail.com contacted representatives of the FPC Bryan in Texas, they did not respond.
Elizabeth Holmes reports to Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Bryan, Texas. Holmes had one last hug with her husband and kept a brave face as she walked away. Holmes then appeared visibly distraught as she entered the door of the facility, escorted by 2 female staff members
She wore glasses, her hair loose and a casual outfit when she reported for prison
The federal prison in Bryan Texas is the only minimum security prison for women
Before falling out of favor, the former biotechnology entrepreneur was named the world’s youngest self-made millionaire in 2014 when she was just 30, and worth a staggering $4.5 billion.
At the prison camp, Holmes, visibly upset, gave her husband Billy Evans, with whom she shares two children, a hug before being taken away by two female staffers.
In the February 23, 2020 blog post, Espejo wrote: “Many of the women housed here have been raped, sexually assaulted, or suffered other traumas.
“Just hearing a man’s voice in the bathroom where they are naked and vulnerable triggers these past traumas and puts them in a state of great fear and anxiety.”
She also told The New York Post that many of these male guards “had sex with women,” prisoners.
But it was also cited that many of these male staffers were “upset about it because of the liability situation it puts on them,” stating that “it’s not a no-win for any of us.”
A 2018 summary review of the Federal Bureau of Prison Management of the Female Inmate Population Policy requires strip searches to be performed by staff members of the same sex as the inmate.
“BOP has established gender-specific policies regarding access to female and reproductive health services, the provision of feminine hygiene products, and the implementation of legal requirements ensuring that female inmates are only physically searched by female BOP employees,” the manual said.
However, Espejo called out the prison she was in by claiming they did not have enough female guards to conduct strip searches as required by federal guidelines.
Billy, her husband, gets back into the car that dropped her off at the prison. She looked emotional as she said goodbye to her family, including her mother and father, standing next to her in black
Holmes pictured with her husband, Billy Evans, and her two children, William, 2, and three-month-old daughter, Invicta, last month in San Diego
Before she fell from grace, Elizabeth Holmes was declared the world’s youngest self-made millionaire when she was just 30, and worth a staggering $4.5 billion. She is pictured here in the September 22, 2014 issue of Forbes magazine
A second female inmate who served time in the federal prison confirmed the claims Espejo told The New York Post about the shower checks and sexual activity between the guards and the inmates.
However, Espejo, 59, who now lives in Arkansas, said these invasive shower checks were “short-lived” and that Holmes has nothing to worry about since she was listed in jail for policy violations.
“I saw terrified women,” she claimed.
After her blog posted the conditions, Espejo said she had been transferred to another federal prison.
She also said that in some cases female inmates are “manipulated into having sex” with prison guards. Sometimes they went that route, she explained, for “extra food or something from the outside, whatever the guard brought them.”
Jen Shah pictured with her husband, Sharrieff Shah Sr., admitted to orchestrating a telemarketing scheme targeting the elderly and vulnerable. Pictured, she leaves Manhattan federal court after being sentenced to 6.5 years in prison for fraud
A spokesman for the Bureau of Prisons declined to “comment on anecdotal allegations,” according to the Post, but said the safety of their inmates is paramount.
“The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and FPC Bryan take seriously our duty to protect those entrusted to our custody and to maintain the safety of prison staff and the community, as this remains one of the highest priorities for the BOP.” , the agency said. .
Between 2022 and 2023, there were six investigations into prison sexual abuse — five of which involved alleged incidents between inmates and one involved an allegation between staff and inmates, according to documents by the BOP.
Five of those allegations, including the incident between staff and detainees, were baseless, while one was baseless, according to prison officials.
Espejo, who still maintains contact with some of the inmates, said it’s possible for Holmes to be approached by someone passing her, but for the most part she should be a willing participant.
“If she says, ‘No, that’s not my thing,’ they leave her alone,” Espejo said in part. “They’re not going to try to force that on her.”