As reported by The Trentonian.com, an employee at private halfway house Albert “Bo” Robinson Assessment and Treatment Center, better known simply as Bo Robinson, is again being accused of having inappropriate sexual relations with an inmate.
This is the second time since June a Bo Robinson worker was terminated for allegedly engaging in sexual relations with an inmate, according to The Trentonian.
The employees, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retribution, said the affair took place when the supervisor visited New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC) inmate Samantha the inmate at a Ewing restaurant recently. The inmate was employed at the restaurant under the halfway house’s work release program.
The workers claimed the supervisor would ask to speak to the inmate outside because she was her counselor. The pair would then hang out in the supervisor’s vehicle where the alleged sexual relations occurred and drugs were exchanged, the employees said.
The inmate, 22, purportedly tested positive for a substance when she returned to the halfway house, and that’s when the relationship surfaced.
In fear of being returned to jail, the inmate spilled her beans about the romantic involvement with the supervisor to the halfway house’s authorities. A photo of the pair was also allegedly recovered from the inmate’s locker, the employees said.
“The supervisor was walked and escorted out the door on Wednesday,” one of the workers said. “This is gross misconduct on behalf of the employee.”
Both NJDOC and Community Education Centers (CEC), the service provider at Bo Robinson which employed the supervisor, declined comment on the incident, citing an ongoing investigation. NJDOC contracts inmates to the 982-bed facility as they approach their release date.
Despite concerns from workers, CEC spokesman Charles Seigel said the appropriate authorities were notified. He said NJDOC’s Special Investigation Division was contacted “the day (the company) discovered this.”
“Once we contact them, it’s out of our hands,” Seigel added.
The for-profit company spokesman, however, was unable to provide the exact day the agency was notified.
The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office only learned of the alleged sexual relationship after being contacted by The Trentonian for comment.
Jennifer Downing, chief of the Special Victims Unit, said Tuesday the agency would “follow up” on the situation.
Bo Robinson drew similar publicity back in June when Lamar Norman, a Bo Robinson counselor, was charged allegedly performing unwanted oral sex on an inmate during an elevator ride after a police investigation.
The owner of the Ewing restaurant where the more recent misconduct is alleged to have occurred blames the private halfway house’s lack of communication for the issues.
“Nobody comes out to talk to me anymore,” he said of the halfway house. “Nobody returns my phone calls. Nobody returns my emails. We lost contact, that’s why this problem is building.”
Bo Robinson has recently been subject to several unfavorable news stories involving allegations of employee misconduct or inaction. In April of this year, The Trentonian reported that drug abuse inside the halfway house was allegedly widespread and “uncontrollable.” Then in June of this year, Mercer County pulled all its inmates out of the institution due to what it described as “facility mismanagement.”