Female guard at juvenile detention center accused of seducing teen inmate

A former female guard at a juvenile detention facility in Florida has been accused of having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a 17-year-old inmate earlier this year. The relationship came to light after the victim informed his mother about it, and his mother then alerted the authorities.

On Tuesday, police arrested 32-year-old Rachelle Edwards who, until recently, worked as a nighttime guard at the Kissimmee Youth Academy, a medium-security detention facility located in Osceola County, Florida. The teen, who was placed in the facility while awaiting sentencing for unknown offenses, claimed that after he had been living there for about three weeks, Edwards instigated the relationship by writing him a letter, asking him his age. The two then began to correspond with one another regularly via letter.

At one point, the teen was relocated to a different cell in the facility. The new cell "he was moved to did not have a camera, and that’s where all the sexual misconduct, to our knowledge at this point, took place," said Sheriff Marcos Lopez. Whether Edwards helped arrange that cell change remains unknown.

Juvenile detention center security guard accused of sex misconduct with teenyoutu.be

Reports indicate that when confronted about their relationship, both the teen and the suspect were initially "uncooperative," the sheriff said, and denied doing anything inappropriate. However, the boy eventually relented and admitted to having sexual relations with Edwards, reports claim.

At some point, Edwards likewise made "a full confession," the sheriff claimed, and she was arrested and charged with four counts of sexual battery against a 16- or 17-year-old and two counts of lewd and lascivious touching. It is unclear when she is expected to appear in court.

An investigation into the accusations continues to unfold, but it is still unclear when the sexual encounters allegedly took place. Edwards was suspended from her job all the way back on March 1 and was fired sometime later after officials determined that she had violated "internal rules," WRBW-TV reported.

During a press conference, Sheriff Lopez lamented not only the alleged relationship between Edwards and the teen but the stain that such a relationship leaves on all of law enforcement. "Especially if something like this happens at a detention facility, our public trust is just damaged even more," he said.

"If you’re going to be doing stupid things like this, [it] doesn’t ever only scar this child for life, but it also scars law enforcement," Lopez continued. "It doesn’t matter in what capacity you are. We need to start changing the way we conduct ourselves in society, especially here in Florida, in Osceola County."

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