Fired Silverdale Detention Facility worker arraigned in criminal court on sex charge

photo Tammy DeShawn Jackson, 32, leaves Judge Rebecca Sterns courtroom Friday. Jackson is charged with having sexual contact with an inmate and official misconduct.

A former female Silverdale correctional officer charged with having a sexual relationship with an inmate will be in court again in March.

On Friday, Tammy DeShawn Jackson, 32, made her first appearance before Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Rebecca Stern on charges of official misconduct and sexual contact with an inmate. Stern set a March 20 court date to receive a status update on the case from each side.

Jackson's attorney, Bill Speek, entered a "not guilty" plea for her on Friday.

The source of the allegations -- a inmate serving prison time on criminal charges -- made him suspicious, Speek said after the hearing.

"The credibility and veracity of the inmate's story has raised serious questions," Speek said.

The policy of the Hamilton County district attorney office is not to comment on pending cases.

The company that operates Silverdale, Corrections Corp. of America, fired Jackson in September, following an investigation of the alleged incident, according to Times Free Press archives.

Jackson started working at the facility in June 2011.

Another Silverdale employee, 20-year-old Jesse Weddell, was arrested in October after she admitted smuggling 20 grams of marijuana into the jail for an inmate.

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