A Hawaiian jail warden forced inmates to watch sexually violent films in an effort to help troubled prisoners change their ways, New York Daily News reported Thursday. Neal Wagatsuma, who runs the Kauai Community Correctional Center in the town of Lihue, was accused of sexually humiliating female inmates and discrimination. He admitted to introducing prisoners to what he calls “shame therapy.”

The films were not pornographic, Wagatsuma insisted in court Wednesday. Rather, he said, they were shown with the goal to help female inmates lower their risk of becoming rape victims and to prevent male inmates from committing rape, The Guardian reported. “Shame therapy is talking about things that are deep within a person,” Wagatsuma said. “It’s just talking about their lives, talking about anything that’s bothering them.”

Social worker Carolyn Richie filed a lawsuit against Wagatsuma claiming the warden forced inmates to talk about their past sexual activities and watch rape videos. Wagatsuma would also shout at inmates while using degrading remarks, according to the lawsuit.

“I don’t yell at them for no reason,” Wagatsuma stated. “It’s about chastising. It’s a good thing ... you want to confront them when they’re wrong,” he added.

Richie claimed she was forced out of the prison after reporting Wagatsuma’s methods. The social worker said female inmates should not be forced to watch rape videos since they are often already victims of sexual assault, local media outlet Hawaii News Now reported.

Wagatsuma was adamant he did not force his prisoners to watch porn. "I would never do that,” he said.

The warden was also accused of not affording female inmates the same jail job opportunities as male prisoners. As a part of a work release program, inmates are allowed to leave the facility to work in the community and then return to jail at the end of the day. However, the warden claimed the jail is not staffed with enough female guards in order to properly search females upon their return.

Wagatsuma’s testimony was expected to continue this week.