Female U.S. Prison Guard Had Sex With Male Inmate, Smuggled Contraband Into Jail, Officials Say

According to arrest warrants, Teas engaged in a sexual relationship with an inmate between April 1 and July 16. Investigators said she admitted to the offence.

A 25-year-old South Carolina correctional officer has been arrested and dismissed from her job after authorities accused her of having a sexual relationship with an inmate and helping smuggle contraband into a state prison.

Jazmin Alexis Teas, of Columbia, was charged on Friday with first-degree sexual misconduct with an inmate, criminal conspiracy and misconduct in office, the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) announced in a statement.

According to The Sun News, Teas has also been fired from her position as a correctional officer at Wateree River Correctional Institution.

Wateree River Correctional Institution is a minimum-security prison for male inmates located in the Rembert area of Sumter County.

According to arrest warrants, Teas engaged in a sexual relationship with an inmate between April 1 and July 16. Investigators said she admitted to the offence.

Authorities further alleged that during the same period, she conspired with the inmate to smuggle unspecified contraband into the prison. Investigators said Teas retrieved the prohibited items after they were brought into the facility and later confessed to that offence as well.

Court records from Sumter County show Teas was granted personal recognisance bonds of $5,000 on each of the three charges, which were posted on the day of her arrest.

Her arrest is the latest in a series of cases involving correctional officers at the same prison.

In February, another former Wateree River Correctional Institution officer, Zoe Maple, was charged with providing contraband to inmates, dissemination of obscene material and misconduct in office.

According to The State newspaper, Maple allegedly engaged in a romantic relationship with an inmate, sent him explicit images via cellphone and conspired to provide him with alcohol inside the prison.

She later resigned from her position and was released on a combined $20,000 bond while the case remains pending.

The latest allegations also recall a similar case from 2018 involving another South Carolina correctional officer.

In October 2018, Ebonynisha Monique Casby, a correctional officer at Lieber Correctional Institution, was arrested on charges including criminal conspiracy, misconduct in office, first-degree sexual misconduct with an inmate and unlawful carrying of a pistol.

The South Carolina Department of Corrections alleged that Casby, who had worked for the department for about six months, collaborated with an inmate to smuggle contraband into the prison while maintaining a sexual relationship with him.

Investigators said Casby used a cellphone to communicate with the inmate and that a search of her phone uncovered messages, photographs of contraband and a recorded sexual encounter.

She was also accused of bringing her personal firearm into the correctional facility before her arrest.