Police: Fired SC jailer had ‘romantic’ inmate relationship

BENNETTSVILLE, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina Department of Corrections police say a jailer has admitted to being in an “inappropriate romantic relationship” with an inmate under her supervision.

News outlets report 53-year-old Betty Boatwright Foxworth has been charged with misconduct in office and fired from Evans Correctional Institution in Bennettsville. A police affidavit says Foxworth admitted the relationship to investigators who found texts between her and an inmate with a contraband cellphone.

Authorities didn’t immediately publicly release the inmate’s identity or say how he obtained the cellphone.

Another jailer at the medium-security prison for male inmates previously was charged first-degree sexual misconduct with an inmate and misconduct in office. Cheryl Huggins was arrested in January and accused of having sex with an inmate. It’s unclear if she still works there.