Corrections officer now in jail for misconduct charges

New information has surfaced in a story first reported in The Colorado Independent last week involving a former state prison guard who is facing accusations of sexual misconduct with inmates, including rape. The corrections officer is now reported to be in jail for criminal charges of inappropriate sexual conduct with a female inmate.

According to a Fox 31 news story, 37-year-old Lashawn Terrell, a former sergeant at the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility, is now incarcerated after a warrant was issued for his arrest last week:

A guard who used to watch the jail, was in jail this week, after being charged with having a sexual affair with a female inmate, then repeatedly missing his court hearings.

The sex behind bars is a crime in itself for former Sgt. Leshawn [sic] Terrell, but it’s not half as shocking as the charges contained in the inmate’s lawsuit against the guard, filed this month.

Terrell is also facing a civil suit accusing him of raping an inmate at the same women’s facility, which is run by the Colorado Department of Corrections.

Click here for the original story reported by The Colorado Independent, including more information about the charges.

Erin Rosa was born in Spain and raised in Colorado Springs. She is a freelance writer currently living in Denver. Rosa's work has been featured in a variety of news outlets including the Huffington Post, Democracy Now!, and the Rocky Mountain Chronicle, an alternative-weekly in Northern Colorado where she worked as a columnist covering the state legislature. Rosa has received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists for her reporting on lobbying and woman's health issues. She was also tapped with a rare honorable mention award by the Newspaper Guild-CWA's David S. Barr Award in 2008--only the second such honor conferred in its nine-year history--for her investigative series covering the federal government's Supermax prison in the state. Rosa covers the labor community, corrections, immigration and government transparency matters. She can be reached at erosa@www.coloradoindependent.com.