Jailer fired for contact with inmate, sheriff says

MOUNTAIN HOME — Baxter County officials have fired a female jailer who they say engaged in an inappropriate relationship with an inmate.

Rose Gomez allowed an inmate charged with burglary and theft to stay at her home after his release from prison, added money to his commissary account and passed notes to him while he was being held at the Baxter County jail, according to her termination letter. On Sept. 8, a surveillance video caught Gomez delivering written messages to the inmate, said the letter, which was acquired through the Freedom of Information Act. Gomez was previously suspended for three days in February after admitting she let the man stay overnight at her home while he was temporarily released.

"I think when you spend that much time with them, the boundaries get blurred," Gomez said. "I can tell you that, no, it's not true. The relationship was inappropriate, but it wasn't intimate."

There have been other inappropriate relationships at the jail, including one between a patrol deputy and a different female jailer, as well as one between a third female jailer and an inmate, the Baxter Bulletin reported. Both of the other incidents were confirmed by Capt. Jeff Lewis of the Baxter County sheriff's office, who said the responsible parties were disciplined but not terminated.

"I think when you have as many employees as we do, you may have these types of incidents," Lewis said. "We've dealt with each one as soon as we learned of it."

Sheriff John Montgomery said he expects employees "to be held to a higher standard."

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