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Ex-Jail Guard Gets 6 Months After Admitting Sex With Inmate

PORT HURON, Mich. (AP) — A former St. Clair County jail guard who admits having sex with an inmate while he was on work release has been sentenced to 10 months in jail, with four months of that suspended.

Twenty-seven-year-old Gemma Cowperthwaite pleaded guilty to a reduced criminal sexual conduct charge in May. Circuit Judge Daniel Kelly sentenced her Monday.

The inmate says he met the deputy while in jail in July 2014. He says he and Cowperthwaite had sex at her home this spring.

Before the sentencing, the ex-deputy said it was the "biggest mistake" of her life.

The judge says Cowperthwaite betrayed the trust of the sheriff and court system.

The Times Herald of Port Huron reports that Sheriff Tim Donnellon says his ex-deputy "deserves every minute of time she's been sentenced to."

 

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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