A Texas Tech Health Sciences Center employee was fired after internal emails and witness statements say she was found naked and engaging in intercourse with a 41-year-old inmate at the state prison in Lubbock.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice employee Andrew Barker said staff at the Montford Unit notified him that Tech employee Cora Crane was observed having sex with an inmate on May 13, according to an email obtained by A-J Media through an open records request. A memo that same day from Montford Warden Robert Stevens states Crane was denied access to the jail after the incident.

Crane was hired by the Health Sciences Center on April 1 as a phlebotomist, which is someone who draws blood, as part of the university's contract to provide on-site physical and mental healthcare to thousands of TDCJ inmates at correctional facilities in West Texas.

When accepting the position, Crane signed a rules and regulations agreement saying she would be fired if the warden permanently denies her access to the correctional unit for any reason, according to portions of Crane's employee file obtained by A-J Media through an open records request. Crane was fired May 17 - less than two months after her hire date - for misconduct/behavior violations.

TDCJ Inspector General Bruce Toney wrote a May 13 email saying he received reports Crane was previously employed at a federal prison and resigned while "under investigation for the same type of behavior."

In the same email thread, Toney states his office is conducting a criminal investigation and Crane will "more than likely" be charged with violation of civil rights of a person in custody, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and up to a $4,000 fine. A document Crane signed when she took the job at Tech states she will not violate that law, which was passed by the Texas Legislature in 1999 and makes it illegal for anyone who works at a correctional facility to engage in sexual contact or intercourse with a person in custody.

TDCJ spokesman Jason Clark confirmed the agency's Office of Inspector General is investigating the sexual conduct between Crane and the inmate, but said he could not provide additional comments.

Any sexual act performed on an offender by a staff member, contractor or volunteer is considered sexual abuse, regardless of whether it is consensual, according to a TDCJ Offender Orientation Handbook dated April 2016.

It's unclear who initiated the sexual activity, but Clark said TDCJ will not release the inmate's name.

A-J Media, which learned the inmate's name through emails, is not identifying the man since he could be considered a victim of sexual abuse. Although the Montford Unit treats psychiatric inmates, a source inside the jail said the inmate was part of the Lubbock facility's Trusty Camp for low-risk offenders.

Brandi George, a charge nurse at the Health Sciences Center, signed a two-page handwritten witness statement on May 17, which says the sexual activity was discovered around 2 p.m. May 13 when a correction officer said they thought Crane and the inmate were inside the phlebotomist office with the door locked and the lights out.

The officer asked George if she had a key to the room, but she didn't. While another correctional officer stood guard outside the office, they went to inform Hilda McClintick, assistant director of nursing, and another person who has a master key to the office.

After unlocking the room, a correctional officer was the first person to enter, followed by the nursing staff.

In inter-office communications, McClintick said the room appeared to be quiet and empty, until she noticed a cart was turned in a way that it would block the view from the doorway. When she approached the cart, McClintick wrote she "noticed an undressed black man facing Ms. Crane, who was partially dressed."

George said she also didn't initially see anyone when the lights were turned on.

"Then I looked down to my left, back behind a long piece of surgical equipment and saw a pair of blue scrub pants and white tennis shoes with a dark Nike swoosh. I also saw what looked like Ms. Crane's and (the inmate's) arms next to the piece of equipment," George wrote in a witness statement obtained by A-J Media. "I heard (a correctional officer) say 'You've got to be kidding me, get out here now.'"

The inmate, who is currently serving a 25-year sentence for delivery of a controlled substance, was naked when he walked from behind the machine and put his boxers on, George wrote. Crane was pulling up her pants.

Two officers escorted the inmate out of the area while he was handcuffed.

McClintick said Crane didn't show any emotion as she was escorted to a conference room and she didn't say a word.

She only responded to two questions - if she understood she wasn't allowed at the prison and if she understood she was fired - with, "Yes, ma'am."

It's unclear if the inmate will face disciplinary action due to engaging in sexual activity with Crane.

"An offender should be aware of how to handle situations in which he perceives himself to be the object of sexual advances by staff members. Any type of sexual advancement by any staff member directed toward any offender is a strict violation of policy," the offender handbook states. "Similarly, it is a violation of the rules for offenders to direct advances towards correctional officers or staff. Correctional officers or staff may not solicit offenders in any way for any type of sexual favors."

Tech Health Sciences Center spokeswoman Mary Croyle said HSC officials are fully cooperating with TDCJ as it investigates the incident, but they have no further involvement in the case.

sarah.rafique@lubbockonline.com • 766-2159

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