BARNSTABLE, Mass. (AP) - A former guard at the Barnstable County jail has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges of having sex with an inmate.
Megan Patterson, a 17-year veteran before she resigned, was released on personal recognizance.
County Sheriff James Cummings tells the Cape Cod Times (https://bit.ly/1reQDLN ) that she was immediately placed on administrative leave and resigned the next day after the relationship was uncovered in April.
State law prohibits correctional officers from having sexual relations with inmates. Doing so is punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of $10,000, or both.
Neither Patterson nor her lawyer responded to the newspaper’s requests for comment.
The inmate’s name has not been disclosed. The alleged encounter took place in a staff dining room.
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Information from: Cape Cod (Mass.) Times, https://www.capecodonline.com
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