America First Legal (AFL) has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), seeking information regarding the reincarceration of Sarah Cavanaugh after she raised concerns about being forced to share a room with a biological male convicted of a sexual crime in direct violation of President Trump’s Executive Order 14168.
AFL’s investigation seeks answers about why Ms. Cavanaugh was punished after raising a safety concern that federal policy now expressly recognizes as legitimate: biological males should not be housed in women’s facilities. The request also seeks records regarding BOP’s contract with Houston House, the Rhode Island halfway house where the incident occurred, and its parent agency, Community Resources for Justice, Inc.
Ms. Cavanaugh was an inmate under the care and custody of the BOP. The BOP determined that Ms. Cavanaugh was a good candidate for release to a halfway house, and she was transferred to the Houston House to finish out her sentence.
On August 12, 2025, Ms. Cavanaugh learned that she was being assigned a new roommate. Upon conducting an internet search, she discovered that the incoming individual, a biological male using the name “Haley Lynn Rose,” was in fact Anthony Ninfo, a convicted sex offender who pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in July 2024.
Ms. Cavanaugh raised concerns with Houston House staff, expressing discomfort with sharing a room with a biological male convicted of a sexual crime. Rather than addressing her legitimate safety concerns, Houston House served Ms. Cavanaugh with an incident report the next day, accusing her of “creating a hostile environment.” The report characterized her inquiries about her roommate’s background as inappropriate boundary violations and alleged that she menacingly publicized her roommate’s gender identity to other residents — an account Ms. Cavanaugh disputes. As a result of the report, Ms. Cavanaugh’s community release was revoked, and she was returned to prison for an additional six months.
Ms. Cavanaugh’s reincarceration stands in direct tension with President Trump’s Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” The order recognizes only two biological sexes, directs the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security to ensure that males are not housed in women’s facilities, and requires federal agencies to designate intimate spaces, including housing assignments, by biological sex. Ms. Cavanaugh raised the very concern that federal policy now recognizes as legitimate and was punished for it.
AFL is requesting all records pertaining to the incident report, all records relating to subsequent actions taken against Ms. Cavanaugh, and all records involving the BOP’s contract with Houston House and its parent agency, Community Resources for Justice, Inc.
“Men should not share intimate spaces with women; this includes in our federal prisons. The BOP has a duty to provide for the safekeeping, care, and protection of federal inmates,” said Emily Percival, Senior Counsel at America First Legal. “The BOP shirked this duty when it allowed its contractor to send a woman back to prison after she raised concerns with sharing a room with a biological male convicted of a heinous sex crime. AFL is demanding an explanation.”
Read the records request here.
Learn more about this investigation here.
