As Jill Curry began speaking, the paper in her hands shook.

On 13 occasions last year, when she was still a civilian worker in the Washington County Jail, 38-year-old Curry pushed a button and unlocked the cell door of an inmate in maximum security.

Then she cleared his path through another set of locked doors and met the 25-year-old gang member in a supply closet for sex.

For that, she pleaded guilty last month to 28 counts, including first- and second-degree custodial sexual misconduct. And she was sentenced Monday to more than four years in prison.

But first she addressed the court, speaking publicly for the first time since her summer arrest.

"I feel nothing but regret and sadness, and I'm so sorry," she said through tears.

To the public, her former coworkers and employer, her family and friends, she apologized for her "reckless" actions.

"I exposed you guys to danger that I didn't even think about," she told the 10 or so sheriff's deputies in the courtroom.

At the time, Curry was married to a sheriff's deputy. The couple has since divorced. He was a good man, she said, who didn't deserve the "hurt and humiliation" she caused, and neither did her kids.

"My children, they are so perfect," she said. "And in return I just devastated their lives. I disappointed and embarrassed them."

Her defense lawyers said when the crimes occurred, Curry's marriage was falling apart. She was experiencing depression and anxiety. She was vulnerable to the inmate's advances, and eventually she became smitten with him.

Defense attorney Jason Short asked the judge to impose a prison term of about a year and a half - the same sentence recommended by a probation officer who conducted a pre-sentencing investigation.

Curry understood that her actions compromised the security of the entire jail, Short said. Prison was an appropriate consequence, he told the judge.

Prosecutor Jeff Lesowski asked for a sentence for four years in prison.

The judge thought Curry's behavior called for a slightly harsher sentence.

Presiding Judge Charles Bailey called the inmate "a really bad guy," but rejected the suggestion that he was to blame for Curry's behavior.

"I find that stupid and ludicrous," he said.

The judge's take: She was not seduced by an aggressor, but instead let her feelings get the best of her.

"Your hedonistic pleasures were more important to you than everybody you just mentioned," Bailey said.

The inmate is likely to bring a lawsuit against the county, and the county will be held responsible, the judge predicted.

"He doesn't deserve the taxpayers' money," Bailey said of the inmate. But "they're going to have to pay, there's no doubt in my mind.

The former jail employee needed to face a consequence, Bailey said. And four years, two months in prison was the right number. She will be eligible for time off for good behavior.

Curry was the first of two jail workers arrested on similar accusations involving the same inmate. Set for trial next month, Brett Robinson, 32, is charged with custodial sexual misconduct and other crimes. Both women resigned from their jobs in September.

Records show the inmate is now serving time in state prison after pleading guilty to attempted second-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon and tampering with a witness.

-- Emily E. Smith

esmith@oregonian.com

503-294-4032; @emilyesmith