The warden of the Westmoreland County Prison has banned male guards from entering the women's cellblock because of an ongoing investigation into the relationship between a former guard and a female prisoner.
Warden John Walton said the prison also is conducting an internal investigation into separate allegations of a relationship between another guard and a former female inmate.
Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck has ordered an investigation into the relationship between a former lieutenant, who resigned, and a Hempfield Township woman who is serving a six- to 23-month sentence for identity theft, theft, forgery and conspiracy.
"I thought it was worth reviewing because of the circumstances and because of claims they had been meeting privately during the night shift," Peck said.
Detectives are interviewing former inmates, prison staff and inmates to determine if there was a sexual relationship between the guard and the woman.
Except for emergencies, male corrections officers are not allowed in the unit, Walton said. The only exceptions are lieutenants and sergeants, who can enter the unit to conduct inspections.
"The more women see the men, the more chances there are for them to mingle," Walton said. "Male guards have no business being there."
Commissioner Tom Ceraso, who is chairman of the county prison board, said the jail has enough female officers to oversee the unit. The jail has space for 691 prisoners. In April, there were 623 inmates housed there. The prison employs more than 100 full-time guards and about 40 part-timers.
Westmoreland isn't the only county prison to have fraternization problems between guards and inmates.
Fifteen guards at the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh last year were charged with sexual misconduct after an investigation revealed some of them had sex with female prisoners.
Walton said the prison has a code of ethics and an administrative policy that forbids officers from having any type of relationship with current or former inmates, or parolees. Guards also are forbidden to have any ties to the families of inmates or have close friends who are inmates. Officers are required to notify the warden in writing of any such relationships.
Walton said he also is investigating a complaint that another officer had a relationship with a former inmate.
The woman's current boyfriend is an inmate, and other inmates claimed the guard threatened them if they told the inmate about the relationship.
"We found nothing to the threats," Walton said. "But this type of thing could cause friction inside the prison. The problem we're going to have is proving he knew the woman was a former inmate. He's been ordered to cease all relationships. This causes us problems, because you have an inmate who may still have feelings for this girl who is dating a guard. "
The United Mine Workers, which represents the corrections officer, filed a grievance against the county, charging Walton's order that the guard end the relationship is "unjust and overly restrictive," he said.
The officer no longer is allowed to work in the cellblock where the inmate's boyfriend is housed.
