Prison nurse arrested for having sex with inmate in his cell, SC officials say
A Midlands woman who worked at a prison in Columbia was charged with a sex crime involving an inmate, the South Carolina Department of Corrections said.
Ashley Elizabeth Berry, who was a licensed practical nurse at Kirkland Reception and Evaluation Center, was arrested Monday, Department of Corrections spokeswoman Chrysti Shain said in a news release.
The 31-year-old Newberry resident was charged with first-degree sexual misconduct with an inmate, according to the release.
On July 14, Berry had sex with an inmate in his cell, according to an arrest warrant.
Berry confessed to committing the sex crime, and witnesses confirmed the incident, the arrest warrant said.
After being arrested, Berry was fired, Shain said.
Berry was released on a $50,000 personal recognizance bond and is scheduled to appear in court again on Aug. 6, Richland County court records show.
If convicted, she would face a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison, according to South Carolina law.
Kirkland is a male-only prison on Broad River Road that “receives, assesses, classifies and assigns all ... offenders age 17 and above sentenced to 91 days or more,” according to the Department of Corrections. The maximum security prison currently houses 1,231 inmates, according to the Department of Corrections.
There have been other recent sex crimes involving inmates and people working at prisons in Columbia.
In April, a Columbia man who was a supervisor in the fabric shop at Camille Graham Correctional Institution was charged with first-degree sexual misconduct with an inmate.
In another incident at Camille Graham in December 2020, an Irmo man who was a contract licensed practical nurse at the women’s-only prison was charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct with an inmate who was a patient.
