By Rozanna M. Martinez
Albuquerque Journal
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A corrections officer who might have become pregnant by a jail inmate has been indicted for allegedly having sex with the man who was under her authority, according to court documents.
Reyna Lujan, 29, is charged with three counts of criminal sexual penetration ( posit ion of authority) for allegedly causing Metropolitan Detention Center inmate Erik Braman, 29, to have sex with her in November and December 2008, as well as in January, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Lujan faces up to nine years in prison on each count. Under state law, it is illegal for police and correctional officers to have sex with people in their custody. Those who violate the law can be charged with rape, even if the sex was consensual.
“We’re glad that she has been indicted,” Nataura Powdrell, MDC spokeswoman said Wednesday. “There is a consensus that there are so many people who are working hard here, and for someone to violate the public trust, it’s a mood and environment we don’t want.”
Braman has since been released from jail and is on probation. After his release, he moved in with Lujan.
Jail staff pulled hundreds of phone call recordings from the jail to Lujan’s cell phone number based on a tip from another inmate that she and Braman had a relationship. The two could be heard discussing their relationship, sexual activity and Braman’s being the father of Lujan’s child.
Lujan was placed on administrative leave in March and resigned a few weeks later. When she resigned, she said it was because of “medical complications with her pregnancy.”
“There is no excuse for a public official abusing their position of authority,” District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said.
Copyright 2009 Albuquerque Journal