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| Inmate Punished for Sex With Officer |
| By Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |
| Published: 02/03/2003 |
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A mentally ill inmate at Taycheedah Correctional Institution who was impregnated by a prison officer overseeing her was ordered to serve nearly a year of solitary confinement as punishment. The officer, Matthew Emery, 24, was fired, but he cannot be charged criminally: Wisconsin is one of only four states in the country that does not explicitly prohibit sexual contact between prison staff and inmates. Legislators from both parties described prisoner Jackie Noyes as a victim and expressed outrage at the way she was treated. Noyes, who has a well-documented history of mental problems, told her family that she believed the prison officer loved her. The situation is 'tragic' and an 'embarrassment,' said state Rep. Sheldon Wasserman, a gynecologist and a member of the Assembly Corrections and Courts Committee. 'How could this have happened, especially to a woman who is mentally ill?' Wasserman asked. 'How can a male prison officer escort a female prisoner to a supposedly secluded area, have sex with her with no one watching, and then walk out? For her to be penalized . . . is wrong.' Noyes, 24, confessed to having four sexual encounters with the officer in the staff break room of the mental health unit where she was receiving treatment. Prison officials found her guilty of 'sexual conduct, soliciting staff.' Emery confessed to two sexual encounters with Noyes, records show. Both termed the relationship consensual. The decision to place Noyes in solitary for one year was made Dec. 3 - the day her pregnancy test came back positive, according to prison records. However, records show that she actually has been held in solitary since her confession Nov. 12. Her sentence was cut to 180 days on Friday by the warden, authorities said. The transfer of Noyes back to the prison's mental health unit came last Thursday after Todd Winstrom, an attorney with the Wisconsin Coalition for Advocacy, protested to Steve Casperson, administrator of the Division of Adult Institutions. Casperson said he supports legislation to make it a crime for prison staff to have sexual contact with inmates. |
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