Office of Justice Programs

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Review Panel on Prison Rape

Upcoming Hearings: The Review Panel on Prison Rape will hold hearings in September 2008.

In accordance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, Public Law 108-79, 117 Stat. 972 (codified as amended at 42 U.S.C. §§ 15601-15609 (2006)), the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, appointed the members of the Review Panel on Prison Rape (Panel) on March 29, 2006. Members of the Panel are:

  • Gwendolyn Chunn, retired Executive Director of the Juvenile Justice Institute, Center for Criminal Justice Research and International Initiatives, Department of Criminal Justice at North Carolina Central University
  • Carroll Ann Ellis, director, Victim Services Division, Fairfax County (VA) Police Department
  • Steven T. McFarland, director, Task Force for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, U.S. Department of Justice

The Panel is responsible for conducting annual hearings to collect evidence to assist the Bureau of Justice Statistics in identifying common characteristics, not only of victims and perpetrators of prison rape, but also of prisons and prison systems with a high incidence of prison rape and those that have been successful in deterring prison rape.