By Corrections1 Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. — The Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office arrested Catherine Dutcher, 24, at her home on December 15, the same day she was fired from the state’s juvenile prison.
Dutcher is accused of having unlawful sexual relations with an inmate 16 years or older, according to KSNT. Earlier that day she was fired from her job as a corrections officer at the Kansas Juvenile Correctional Complex, which houses juvenile offenders between 10 and 22 years of age, according to a state website.
Dutcher was hired on Aug. 22, 2022. Her case is with the county prosecutors to determine whether charges should be filed against her.
According to KSNT, Pedro Cruz-Garcia was also an officer at the Kansas Juvenile Correctional Complex and was arrested for the same crime and fired from his job. Cruz-Garcia was later sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to “unlawful sexual relations,” according to Shawnee County court records.