A 39-year-old former corrections worker at the Casper Reentry Center has been charged with two counts of sexual misconduct for allegedly having sex with a 30-year-old inmate in 2022.
Court records show Justice Jean Hayes was bound over to felony-level Natrona District Court on Tuesday on suspicion of sexual assault in the second degree and sexual assault in the third degree for incidents involving a male inmate who was at the facility and under her supervision during her tenure from May 16 through Oct. 24, 2022.
An arrest affidavit states that the Wyoming Department of Corrections Investigative Services Unit started investigating Hayes’ conduct after learning March 8, 2023, that she was allegedly in a “dating relationship” with an inmate at the facility.
“The nature of the investigation surrounded whether or not there had been a sexual relationship between a Casper Reentry Center (employee) and an inmate at Casper Reentry Center,” an arrest affidavit states.
That investigation uncovered alleged sexual misconduct on the part of Hayes and the information was turned over to the Natrona County Sheriff’s Department in December.
‘Explicit, Vulgar’ Phone Calls
The initial investigation the Department of Corrections found 49 recorded phone calls, some of which were of a “explicit, vulgar and (in) sexual nature” between Hayes and the resident as well as “simulated sex” over the phone, the affidavit states.
On May 2, 2023, the man who was incarcerated at the Natrona County Detention Center at the time said he wanted to report being sexually assaulted by Hayes while at the reentry center, court records show.
The alleged victim told investigators that he and Hayes first passed notes, then became more physical. He would go to Hayes’ office and they would rub each others’ intimate parts, according to court records.
On another occasion, the inmate told investigators that he and Hayes had sexual intercourse in her office, according to the affidavit.
‘Nothing Happened’
During an interview with Hayes on May 4, 2023, Hayes initially told an investigator that “nothing happened” between her and the male inmate and denied physical contact with him.
She did admit to having phone conversations with the man starting the day after she quit her employment, court records show.
Later in the interview she admitted to getting a “burner phone” from Walmart for “concealment purposes” so the male could call her without her identity being discovered, the affidavit says.
The affidavit states that by the end of the interview, Hayes admitted to kissing the male resident inside her office with an “open mouth and tongue,” and when asked if they had sexual touching during those kisses she replied, “Not really.”
“(Hayes) denied having … sexual conversations by phone with (the alleged victim), even though the phone records and recording indicated they had talked 49 times and had discussed sexual exploits, fantasies and had engaged in phone sex,” the affidavit states.
The charge of sexual assault in the second degree, which involves sexual intrusion on a victim, is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 or both. Sexual assault in the third degree, which involves sexual contact, is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
