(NEWSnet/AP) — The warden of a federal women’s prison in California has been ousted months into his tenure.

FBI agents on Monday hauled boxes of evidence from the facility in an apparent escalation of a yearslong investigation that put a former warden and other employees behind bars for sexually abusing inmates.

Government lawyers said in court documents that Art Dulgov was removed as warden of FCI Dublin, following allegations that his staff had retaliated against an inmate who testified in January in a lawsuit against the prison.

The inmate was transferred to a different prison, despite the judge’s order not to transfer witnesses without court approval, filings show.

Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed the leadership shakeup, saying “recent developments have necessitated new executive employees be installed” at the low-security Bay Area facility. The agency did not specify the developments and declined to comment.

Deputy Regional Director N.T. McKinney will succeed Dulgov on an interim basis effective immediately, Bureau of Prisons spokesperson Randilee Giamusso said. McKinney is at least the fourth person to be put in charge of FCI Dublin since former warden Ray Garcia was placed on administrative leave after the FBI raided his office and vehicle in July 2021.

A message seeking comment was left with Dulgov.

More than a dozen FBI agents searched FCI Dublin on Monday, seizing computers, documents and other evidence and seeking to interview employees, a person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press.

In August 2023, eight inmates sued Bureau of Prisons, alleging the agency had failed to root out sexual abuse.

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