Former corrections officer sentenced for having sex with inmate

A former correctional officer will spend more than one year in prison after pleading guilty to having a sexual relationship with a female inmate.

Mark McShane, 37, of Owatonna, Minn., was sentenced to 14 months in prison Thursday in U.S. District Court in St. Paul.

McShane pleaded guilty to one count of sexual abuse of a ward.

According to his guilty plea and documents filed in court, McShane worked at the Federal Correctional Institution in Waseca, Minn. From November 2016 through January 2017, McShane engaged in a sexually inappropriate relationship with the inmate while she was incarcerated.

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Subsequently, in February 2017, he became extremely intoxicated during a social outing and admitted to co-workers his sexual misconduct with the inmate.

The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Allyn, prosecutor for the case, said, "when a correctional officer, a person in a position of authority, takes advantage of an inmate, it erodes trust throughout the institution and has a negative impact on every other inmate and employee."

McShane was also sentenced to five years of supervised release after prison.