A female prison officer at Montgomery County prison, who prosecutors say had been accused in the past of sexual misconduct on the job, was charged recently with luring inmates into having sex with her by bribing them with sweets, cigarettes, and other goods from the commissary.
Eileen Mayfield, 42, of the 1200 block of Pine Street in Norristown, was charged with three counts of institutional sexual assault for engaging in sex acts with male prisoners who worked in the commissary that she oversaw at the Eagleville facility.
Mayfield has been suspended without pay, authorities said.
Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. also said yesterday that his office had launched a separate investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct involving male officers and female prisoners.
According to police, six prison inmates have said in interviews that Mayfield, who has worked at the prison for at least 18 years, had sexual encounters with them. Some date back to the early 1990s, authorities said. Mayfield was charged in only three instances, Castor said, because of a two-year statute of limitations.
According to Castor, prison officials temporarily removed Mayfield from her position as commissary supervisor in 1993 because of allegations that she had inappropriately touched an inmate. That same inmate recently came forward to tell prison staff about Mayfield's conduct, sparking the investigation and arrest.
Castor said the number of past and current inmates who have come forward lends credibility to the charges, as do handwritten letters allegedly from Mayfield to an inmate.