A former prison guard in Florida has been accused of having sex with an inmate and smuggling cigars into jail hidden in her private parts.

Sergeant Lawana Mekell Sharpe, who reportedly worked at the Graceville Correctional Facility, near the city of Graceville, in Jackson County, in the US state of Florida, for approximately four years, reportedly accepted USD 12,000 (GBP 9,700) in payments for smuggling contraband into the facility.

The Florida Department of Corrections said in an arrest affidavit that Sharpe had confessed after being confronted about the allegations.

Sharpe allegedly said that she had performed oral sex on an inmate twice and that she smuggled the cigars into the facility in her private parts.

According to the prison, she received 67 payments between January and October 2021 from eight different accounts as part of the contraband smuggling operation.

Sharpe had allegedly begun a sexual relationship with an inmate at the prison, and an investigation was opened by the Florida Department of Corrections Office of the Inspector General. She reportedly denied having sex with the inmate but did confess to performing oral sex on him on a number of occasions.

Sharpe’s employment ended on 30th September 2021, and she was reportedly charged this month, in January 2023.

She faces two counts of sexual misconduct, two counts of conspiracy to introduce contraband and 67 counts of unlawful compensation, still according to the prison authorities.