DUBLIN >> For the second time in a month, federal prosecutors have added charges against one of the several former law enforcement officials who have been accused of sexually abusing incarcerated women at FCI Dublin, court records show.

John Russell Bellhouse, 39, was indicted by a grand jury on charges of sexually abusing two additional women at the prison, bringing his total number of alleged victims to three. Bellhouse now faces two charges of sexual abuse of a ward, which carries a 15-year maximum penalty, and four counts of abusive sexual contact, where he faces up to two years if convicted.

Bellhouse is only the latest former FCI Dublin employee to face a superseding indictment in an ongoing sexual abuse scandal that has led to criminal charges against the prison’s former warden, a prison chaplain and several guards. The former warden, Ray J. Garcia, was hit with his own superseding indictment last month, charging him with additional counts of sexual abuse and lying to investigators.

Federal prosecutors put out a news release Thursday that included written statements attributed to a deputy attorney general, the lead attorney general in Northern California, the inspector general and the FBI special agent in charge, which stress the “upmost importance” of keeping prisoners safe from harm, and the Department of Justice’s “zero tolerance” for abuse by prison guards. A federal lawsuit filed two weeks ago by one alleged victim, though, says that the sexual abuse was widely known at FCI Dublin, and that it was allowed to continue for years.

The woman, who is suing under an alias to maintain her anonymity, alleges that she was abused by Ross Klinger, one of the former guards facing federal charges. The suit names Klinger and Garcia as defendants, alleging that Garcia failed to protect women at the prison and noting that he faces charges as well.

The complaint also alleges that corrections Officer Sergio Salcedo — who has not been charged with sexual abuse — “bullied” the woman for cooperating with law enforcement and told her she would die in prison, and that Klinger threatened to kill her with a pitchfork. When she “spiraled into depression” and started cutting herself, she was placed into solitary confinement for two weeks, ostensibly for her own protection.

Thus far, just one of the guards charged, James Highhouse, a former guard and prison chaplain, has pleaded guilty and been sentenced; U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam gave him seven years in federal prison, which Highhouse is appealing. In Highhouse’s sentencing memo, prosecutors said the abuse started with inappropriate touching and escalated into repeated, regular sexual abuse.

“The defendant exploited both his position as a chaplain and (the victim’s) faith by quoting biblical parables and referencing King David and his many wives as a justification for his conduct,” U.S. attorneys wrote in a sentencing brief.

That woman wrote in a victim impact letter that she has learned to forgive Highhouse through her religious faith but “will not forget nor condone” what happened. A second woman submitted a victim impact statement in which she said Highhouse truly “ruined my life.”

“I don’t even go to church anymore because of him. I have no trust in the church and really, I don’t trust anyone because of what he did,” the woman wrote. “I have no faith in the Bureau of Prisons because they did nothing to help me — even after he was reported, he was allowed to stay there and do this to other women. He took advantage of women in prison and preyed on us.”