Juliana Salimeni: Iowa female jail worker, 27, is arrested after carrying out a seven-month affair with inmate, 29

Iowa female jail worker, 27, is arrested after have sex ‘multiple times’ with inmate, 29, including in a utility closet and recreation yard

Kayla Bergom, 27, faces three counts of sexual misconduct and six years of jail
She is accused of having sex with an unidentified male inmate, 29, several times between September 2020 and April 2021
The pair are accused of having sex in a utility closet at least once, and twice in the prison’s recreation yard
Bergom had worked for the jail for three years prior to her resignation and arrest
Interactions between staff and inmates are believed to be direct at the prison

xxxx
A female employee at an Iowa prison has been arrested after allegedly having sex with an inmate multiple times over the course of seven months.

Kayla Bergom, 27, is facing three counts of sexual misconduct for engaging in sexual activity with the unidentified inmate, 29, while she worked at the Tama County Jail.

The fling occurred between September 2020 and April 2021, and they had sex in a utility closet on at least one occasion and in the recreation yard at least twice, The Gazette reported.

Tama County Sheriff Dennis Kucera told The Gazette that Bergom had worked for the jail for three years prior to her resignation and was charged in May.

Her trial is set to take place on August 12. The former jail employee, who has pleaded not guilty, is facing up to six years of jail.

It’s unclear whether the inmate is still behind bars, but The Gazette reported that Bergom had sex with him several times while he was an inmate between September 2020 and April 2021.

‘Federal law makes it illegal for prison guards to have sex with incarcerated people. This is because incarcerated people cannot legally give consent,’ according to non-profit think tank Interrogating Justice.

‘If a prison guard has sex with an incarcerated person, the guard can face up to 15 years in prison,’ it added.

The investigation was handled by the Iowa Divsion of Criminal Investigation after a county employee had filed a complaint. It was then concluded in March.

Tama County Jail is a small facility that can only hold up to 30 inmates serving short sentences for up to a year, according to Templeton1.org.

Interactions between staff and inmates are believed to be direct, and the prison has medical, laundry, and kitchen services included inside of it.