Ex-jailer sentenced for crime tied to illegal affair with inmate

A former correctional officer who became romantically involved with a federal inmate gave a tearful apology Tuesday during a sentencing.

“I am sorry I’ve done this. I didn’t realize what I was doing,” Cassandra LaRay Skaggs told an Oklahoma City federal judge.

“I was very vulnerable.”

Skaggs, 32, of Mangum, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a scheme to conceal material fact.

While a correctional officer in October 2015 at the Great Plains Correctional Facility in Hinton, Skaggs did not disclose that she provided money to the male inmate, she admitted.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge David L. Russell sentenced Skaggs to two years probation and 104 hours of community service.

The judge told Skaggs she should have known what she was doing was wrong.

In a sentencing memorandum, defense attorney Julia Summers wrote that the 42-year-old inmate took advantage of Skaggs’ weaknesses and “need for emotional comfort.”

The attorney noted Skaggs had low selfesteem and was vulnerable following the death of her common-law husband.

The inmate, a citizen of Mexico, was in federal custody at the time following a 2014 conviction for illegal reentry into the United States, documents show.

In the 1990s, the man, whose name was not released, was convicted in Texas of kidnapping, attempted homicide and robbery offenses, and sentenced to 20 years in prison, records show.

“Skaggs had no knowledge of the extent and egregiousness of his criminal history and to her he presented himself as charming,” the defense attorney wrote.

“Of course, this was a man who spent nearly 20 years behind bars, where no doubt he learned how to size up a person’s vulnerabilities and honed his manipulative skills.”

The attorney also noted that the inmate sent Skaggs letters to make her feel attractive and wanted, “all with the obvious goals of controlling her and obtaining a variety of benefits from her.”

Skaggs had just started working at the facility when the offenses occurred, the defense attorney wrote. She now works at a restaurant, according to the attorney.