A Frackville, Pennsylvania, woman is facing charges after having an affair with an inmate at a state prison.
According to court papers, on Nov. 9th, 2023, Jennifer Newberry, 48, of Frackville, was charged with institutional sexual assault, contraband involving a telecommunication device, taking or delivering obscene material to a correctional facility, and tampering with physical evidence.
Newberry Started Affair After Inmate was Assigned to be Her Clerk, Used Fake Name to Send Him Intimate Photos
As reported by local news outlet Skook News, the charges stem from a relationship that Newberry had with an inmate while she worked as a unit manager at the State Correctional Institution in Frackville. Court papers stated that in August 2023, the prison requested an investigation after security noticed she was spending too much time with an inmate and she suddenly resigned.
The investigation found that Newberry and an inmate began having a relationship in December of 2021 when he was assigned to be her clerk. By March 2023, Newberry had contacted the inmate's family member to gain access to a GTL (Global Tel Link) email account under a fake name to allow her to communicate with him through email.
Through this email account, Newberry sent nude photographs to the inmate. The emails sent through GTL are all monitored for security purposes.
Newberry Accused of Having Sex with Inmate in Her Office At Least 10 Times
Newberry would later provide the inmate with a cell phone so that she could communicate with him via text and voice calls while she was not at work.It was also learned that they allegedly had sex in her office on at least 10 occasions.
During the course of Newberry and the inmate communicating, he sent all the texts and photos to his family member as "insurance" in case she got him in trouble.
Newberry Caught by Her Husband After He Found Her Texts to Inmate
The relationship reportedly fell apart in late July 2023, when Newberry was on vacation and her husband caught her texting. When she returned to work, she asked for the cell phone back and destroyed it.
In late August 2023, Newberry was interviewed and admitted to sending the emails through the GTL system, providing the inmate with the cell phone so they could communicate with each other while she was on vacation, and also sending him photos and videos of herself. She denied having sex with the inmate.
Based on the information learned from the investigation, the Department of Corrections asked that Newberry face the charges listed above. On November 22nd, 2023, Newberry was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Edward Tarantelli on those charges and released on $25,000 unsecured bail. Newberry will be back in court on December 6th, 2023, for a preliminary hearing before Judge Tarantelli.
