Correction officer turns down plea offer in sex case

Correction officer Kareem Dawson, one of three employees at the Janet S. York Correctional Institution in Niantic accused of having an illegal sexual relationship with an inmate, has turned down an offer from the state to resolve his case short of trial.

Dawson, 34, was charged June 30 with second-degree sexual assault. He is accused of flirting with a 28-year-old inmate before approaching her while she was taking a shower on March 2014 and initiating a sexual encounter.

He has worked for the Department of Correction for nine years.

Dawson, who was placed on administrative leave following the incident and is represented by attorney Hubert Santos, turned down three plea options offered by prosecutor Theresa Anne Ferryman.

One offer involved pleading guilty to a lesser charge of sexual assault, a misdemeanor, and serving no prison time but being required to register as a sexual offender.

A second option was to plead guilty to a felony charge of unlawful restraint in exchange for no prison time and no registration requirement.

The third offer included a 90-day prison sentence for a misdemeanor charge of unlawful restraint and two years probation.

Judge Hillary B. Strackbein added Dawson’s case to the trial list.

One of the officers, Jeffery Bromley, pleaded no contest to second-degree unlawful restraint, a misdemeanor, and is serving a 90-day prison sentence.

The case of the third officer, Matt Gillette, is pending.