Why It Matters
In California, a troubling jurisdictional gap has left rape allegations at a major immigration detention facility without formal law enforcement investigation. At the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego County, at least seven reported sexual assaults went uninvestigated by the county sheriff in 2025 — with oversight authority instead resting in the hands of a private prison corporation’s warden.
The arrangement raises serious questions about accountability, detainee rights, and the limits of law enforcement responsibility when public safety functions are outsourced to private contractors. For the approximately 1,500 federal immigration detainees housed at the facility — most awaiting hearings and not convicted of any crime — the consequences are direct and significant.
What Happened
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office failed to investigate at least seven reported sexual assaults and four attempted sexual assaults at the Otay Mesa Detention Center during 2025, according to records obtained by CalMatters. The facility is operated by CoreCivic, the largest for-profit prison contractor in the United States.
A 2020 memorandum of understanding between the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and CoreCivic grants Warden Christopher LaRose the authority to determine how rape allegations at the facility are handled and investigated. That agreement, obtained by CalMatters through a California Public Records Act request, effectively transfers investigative decision-making from sworn law enforcement officers to civilian administrators employed by a private corporation.
When CalMatters contacted the sheriff’s office about the uninvestigated cases, a spokesperson confirmed the agency was not pursuing those investigations. The spokesperson simultaneously declined to release additional records related to the allegations, stating they were part of “a law enforcement investigation” — a position that critics argue is contradictory given the sheriff’s stated non-involvement in the cases.
CoreCivic responded to inquiries in writing but did not provide detailed information about how the company investigates sexual assault allegations internally or what oversight mechanisms are in place.
At least one San Diego County supervisor has called for revisiting the 2020 memorandum of understanding, citing concerns that the current arrangement leaves detainees without adequate legal protections.
By the Numbers
- 7 — Reported sexual assaults at Otay Mesa Detention Center in 2025 that the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office did not investigate
- 4 — Additional reported attempted sexual assaults at the facility during the same period
- ~1,500 — Federal immigration detainees currently housed at Otay Mesa, the majority awaiting immigration hearings
- 2020 — The year the memorandum of understanding between the sheriff’s department and CoreCivic was signed, granting the warden investigative authority
- 1 — San Diego County supervisor who has publicly called for revisiting the CoreCivic agreement following the CalMatters report
Zoom Out
The situation at Otay Mesa is part of a broader national pattern involving oversight gaps at privately operated immigration detention facilities. CoreCivic and its chief competitor, GEO Group, together operate dozens of ICE detention centers across the country under contracts that vary widely in how they define law enforcement responsibilities and detainee protections.
Federal law requires ICE detention facilities to comply with the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), which mandates specific protocols for reporting, investigating, and responding to sexual assault allegations. Critics and advocacy groups have long argued that compliance with PREA standards at privately run facilities is inconsistently monitored and enforced.
California has some of the strongest state-level protections for detainees, including the VALUES Act and the Dignity Not Detention Act, which limit local government cooperation with ICE. However, those laws do not specifically address how sexual assault investigations must be conducted at private detention facilities operating under federal contracts within the state.
Immigration detention populations have grown significantly in recent years under intensified federal enforcement priorities, placing additional pressure on facilities and their oversight structures nationwide.
What’s Next
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors is expected to take up the question of whether to renegotiate or revise the 2020 memorandum of understanding with CoreCivic. Any revised agreement could restore sheriff’s authority to investigate criminal allegations — including sexual assault — at the Otay Mesa facility.
Advocacy organizations are likely to press for an independent review of how the unreported cases were handled by CoreCivic staff. State legislators in California may also examine whether additional statutory requirements are needed to ensure law enforcement oversight at privately operated detention centers.
ICE has not publicly commented on whether the agency intends to review its contract terms with CoreCivic in light of the CalMatters investigation or audit compliance with federal PREA standards at the San Diego facility.