By Patrick Cassidy
Cape Cod Times
BARNSTABLE — A former correctional officer has been indicted in Barnstable Superior Court for allegedly having sex with an inmate.
On April 22, the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Division received information about an improper relationship between Megan Patterson, a 17-year veteran of the Barnstable County Correctional Facility, and an inmate, according to a statement released Friday by Sheriff James Cummings.
Patterson, 51, was immediately placed on administrative leave and resigned the next day, according to Cummings.
As the investigation continued, it became apparent that her conduct might be criminal, and the Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe’s office was notified, according to the statement.
On Friday, O’Keefe said Patterson was indicted on a statute prohibiting correctional officers from having sex with inmates and that she will be arraigned in Barnstable Superior Court “in due time.”
O’Keefe didn’t release any specifics about the allegations.
Patterson did not respond to a message seeking comment for this story.
She was hired at the jail in 1996. In 2012, she earned $62,646, including overtime, according to Cummings.
“We certainly view this as a learning experience,” Cummings said Friday. “We harp on this all the time.”
The dangers and illegality of improper contact with inmates is taught in the sheriff’s office’s 12-week training academy, annually at in-service training and at daily roll call, according to Cummings.
“You tell these folks nothing good is ever going to come in dealings with any inmate,” he said. “As soon as they get caught they’ll give you up immediately. It’s just stupid.”
Cummings said that cameras have been installed in the staff dining room, where Patterson allegedly had sex with the unnamed inmate. There is no indication that any other officials at the facility knew about the alleged behavior, Cummings said.
Cummings declined to discuss further specifics of the case.
“Right now we’re in the process of doing an entire security upgrade which had been planned,” he said. The upgrade had nothing to do with the allegations against Patterson, he said. The number of camera monitors in the jail is expected to be increased to nearly 200, he said.
State law prohibits correctional officers from having sexual relations with inmates. Doing so is punishable by imprisonment for up to five years in state prison or a fine of $10,000, or both.
“In a prosecution commenced under this section, an inmate shall be deemed incapable of consent to sexual relations with such person,” according to the law.
In the statement released Friday, Cummings said Patterson’s fate is in the hands of the court and his thoughts are with what he called the “99.9 percent of corrections officers who serve the people of Barnstable County every day doing a very difficult job with integrity, professionalism, compassion and teamwork.”
In a follow up email, Cummings wrote that it is not clear yet whether Patterson will be allowed to collect any retirement benefits.
“She certainly could lose it,” he wrote.