FCI Victorville (minimum-security camp)
The Victorville Federal Prison Camp is a minimum-security satellite camp that houses women on the grounds of the Federal Correctional Complex, Victorville (FCC Victorville) in Victorville, California.[1] The main institutions at FCC Victorville hold men; the adjacent camp is the women's component. Following the 2024 permanent closure of FCI Dublin, the Victorville camp is one of the only remaining federal facilities holding women on the West Coast.
The camp runs on the standard federal minimum-security model: dormitory-style housing, no perimeter fencing, work assignments, and an emphasis on programming and re-entry rather than physical security. Because women's West Coast options are limited, the camp draws women from a wide catchment.
The Victorville complex
FCC Victorville, in the high desert of San Bernardino County, comprises a high-security penitentiary and medium-security institutions for men, plus the minimum-security camp that houses women. The complex is administered as a unit but the camp operates with its own daily structure, separate from the men's institutions.
Daily life and programs
Located in the high-desert of San Bernardino County near the cities of Victorville and Adelanto, California, FPC Victorville is a minimum-security satellite Federal Prison Camp for women. The institution operates within the Federal Correctional Complex (FCC) Victorville and represents one of the relatively few federal women's camps on the West Coast. Administratively, the facility is attached to the men's medium-security FCI Victorville Medium II. The broader complex also includes FCI Medium I and USP Victorville, both for men. FPC Victorville houses non-violent, minimum-security female offenders, many of whom are white-collar defendants. Prison-consultant sources place the camp population in the range of roughly 250 to 300 women. Because it is designated as a camp, the site lacks the perimeter fencing, razor wire, and guard towers of the higher-security institutions on the complex. For public correspondence, the facility mailing address is 13777 Air Expressway Blvd., Adelanto, CA.
Educational and reentry initiatives are central to programming at the camp. Available opportunities include adult literacy, GED preparation, English as a Second Language (ESL), Adult Continuing Education (ACE), and parenting classes, alongside work assignments in food service, facilities maintenance, and grounds that support the larger complex. Substance-abuse support includes Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, a Drug Education class, and the Non-Residential Drug Abuse Program (NR-DAP). Importantly, the flagship Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP) is not run on-site at the Victorville women's camp. Consequently, women seeking RDAP's substantial First Step Act time reduction generally must be designated or transferred to a facility that operates it. The camp also hosts the STAGES program for inmates with serious mental illness and personality disorders, and 24-hour crisis counseling is available for emergencies. Per the inmate handbook, recreation offerings have included pilates, spin, yoga, personal training, and landscape painting.
Family contact follows standard BOP camp practice. Visitation is held on Fridays, weekends, and federal holidays. Inmates receive a monthly telephone allotment of roughly 300 minutes most of the year, which is higher in November-December. Individual calls are capped at 15 minutes. Funds are received by postal money order or Western Union. For incoming mail, books and magazines must generally arrive direct from the publisher, and packages are not permitted without authorization. Religious services accommodate Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Jewish, and Native American practice. These services are supported largely by volunteer chaplains and outside religious volunteers. The camp's case-management and counseling line is 760-530-5700.
The women's camp has faced documented misconduct and medical-care controversies. In a case prosecuted in the Central District of California, Bureau of Prisons correctional officer Apolonio Gamez was charged with sexually abusing female inmates at the Victorville complex. Gamez engaged in sexual activity with one inmate in 2016 and coerced another in 2017. He later pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of a ward and attempted sexual abuse of a ward, resulting in a sentence of prison, supervised release, and sex-offender registration. Separately, public attention was drawn in 2019 to the death of a premature infant born to camp inmate Noe Serrano. Serrano had self-surrendered while pregnant, and her baby died at nine days old at Loma Linda. The infant's death prompted a petition calling for women's-prison reform around the treatment of pregnant inmates. These incidents mirror broader oversight concerns raised about care and safety in federal women's facilities.
Location & Visitation
Physical location: VICTORVILLE, CA 92394
For current visiting rules and scheduling, always check the institution's official page: Official BOP Page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Does FCC Victorville house women?
Yes, in its minimum-security satellite camp. The main institutions at FCC Victorville hold men; the adjacent camp is the women's component. After FCI Dublin closed in 2024, the Victorville camp is one of the few federal facilities holding women on the West Coast.
Background
FPC Victorville is the minimum-security satellite Federal Prison Camp for women that operates within the Federal Correctional Complex (FCC) Victorville in the high-desert of San Bernardino County, near the cities of Victorville and Adelanto, California. It is one of the relatively few federal women's camps on the West Coast. The camp is administratively attached to the men's medium-security FCI Victorville Medium II (the complex also includes FCI Medium I and USP Victorville, both for men), and houses non-violent, minimum-security female offenders, many of them white-collar defendants. Prison-consultant sources place the camp population in the range of roughly 250 to 300 women. The facility mailing address is 13777 Air Expressway Blvd., Adelanto, CA, and, as a camp, it lacks the perimeter fencing, razor wire, and guard towers of the higher-security institutions on the complex.
Programming at the camp emphasizes education and reentry: adult literacy, GED preparation, English as a Second Language (ESL), Adult Continuing Education (ACE), and parenting classes are available, alongside work assignments in food service, facilities maintenance, and grounds that support the larger complex. Substance-abuse support includes Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, a Drug Education class, and the Non-Residential Drug Abuse Program (NR-DAP). Importantly, the flagship Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP) is not run on-site at the Victorville women's camp, so women seeking RDAP's substantial First Step Act time reduction generally must be designated or transferred to a facility that operates it. The camp also hosts the STAGES program for inmates with serious mental illness and personality disorders, and 24-hour crisis counseling is available for emergencies. Per the inmate handbook, recreation offerings have included pilates, spin, yoga, personal training, and landscape painting.
Family contact follows standard BOP camp practice: visitation is held on Fridays, weekends, and federal holidays; inmates receive a monthly telephone allotment (roughly 300 minutes most of the year, higher in November-December) with calls capped at 15 minutes; and funds are received by postal money order or Western Union. Books and magazines must generally arrive direct from the publisher, and packages are not permitted without authorization. Religious services accommodate Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Jewish, and Native American practice, supported largely by volunteer chaplains and outside religious volunteers. The camp's case-management and counseling line is 760-530-5700.
The women's camp has been the subject of documented misconduct and medical-care controversies. In a case prosecuted in the Central District of California, Bureau of Prisons correctional officer Apolonio Gamez was charged with sexually abusing female inmates at the Victorville complex; he engaged in sexual activity with one inmate in 2016 and coerced another in 2017, later pleading guilty to sexual abuse of a ward and attempted sexual abuse of a ward, and was sentenced to prison, supervised release, and sex-offender registration. Separately, in 2019 the death of a premature infant born to camp inmate Noe Serrano, who had self-surrendered while pregnant and whose baby died at nine days old at Loma Linda, drew public attention and prompted a petition calling for women's-prison reform around the treatment of pregnant inmates. These incidents mirror broader oversight concerns raised about care and safety in federal women's facilities.
Notable inmates
| Name | Sentence | Offense | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sherri Papini[2] | 18 months (served ~11 months before early release to community confinement) | Mail fraud and lying to a federal agent, faked her own 2016 kidnapping and defrauded California's victim-compensation program | 2022-2023 |
| Abby Lee Miller[3] | 366 days (1 year and 1 day), plus 2 years supervised release and a $40,000 fine | Bankruptcy fraud and money laundering (concealing ~$775,000 of income during Chapter 11 proceedings); the 'Dance Moms' reality-TV instructor | 2017-2018 |
See also
- FCI Victorville camp: a practical guide for women preparing to serve time there (womensfederalprison.com)
References
- ↑ "FCI Victorville Medium I". Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved 2026-07-06.
- ↑ "Sherri Papini". '. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
- ↑ "Abby Lee Miller". '. Retrieved 2026-07-07.