A staff member at the Kentucky State Penitentiary is facing criminal charges after allegedly engaging in a sexual relationship with an inmate, according to authorities.
Alysta Mathis, 26, from Dawson Springs, has been charged with third-degree rape and third-degree sodomy. Court records identify her as a classification and treatment officer at the facility.
The alleged incident was reported to the Kentucky State Police on Monday by prison officials. Investigators say the encounter was recorded on the prison’s surveillance system.
According to court documents, Mathis declined to discuss the allegations when questioned by authorities.
She was later taken into custody and booked into the Crittenden County Jail. Records indicate she is being held on a $2,500 bond, and no court date has been set.
The Kentucky State Pentitentiary, located in Eddyville, is the state’s only maximum-security prison and houses death row inmates. The facility has a capacity of more than 800 prisoners.
The case remains under investigation.