North Carolina Detention Officer Charged With Engaging in Sex With Male Inmate and Providing Tobacco Products

According to sheriff officials, a female detention officer at a North Carolina jail was fired after being charged with having sex with an inmate.

On Tuesday, 47-year-old Karen Payton, a Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office police officer, was fired after a warrant for her arrest was filed.

According to Sheriff Garry McFadden, Payton allegedly had sex with a male inmate and gave him tobacco products while he was detained.

“There is no place for this type of conduct or behavior in our detention facilities or agency,” McFadden said. “We face too many daily challenges here at MCSO to allow such behavior and activity to continue that could compromise the safety and security of our staff and our residents.”

The allegations against Payton do not reflect the “professionalism and high standards” expected of sheriff’s department employees, Mcfadden said.

Payton was charged with three felonies for engaging in a sex act with an inmate in the lockup and a misdemeanor for providing tobacco to an inmate. As of this morning, her bond was set at $2,000, and she was no longer listed as being detained.

According to the Charlotte Observer, Payton, also known as Karen Goldberg, is at least the sixth member of McFadden’s staff to be fired in the last five months, and the second female jail officer.