Woman Convicted Of Sex With Prison Inmate Sees Sentence Tossed Out

CANTON - A former Gouverneur Correctional Facility employee convicted of having sex with an inmate had her sentence and sex offender classification status tossed.

Lisa A. Vaughn, 42, Carthage, pleaded guilty in April in St. Lawrence County Court before Judge Jerome J. Richards to felony third-degree rape.

She was sentenced in June to serve 60 days in St. Lawrence County jail on weekends and 10 years' probation. She also was classified a Level 1 sex offender, considered a low risk to commit such a crime again.

Judge Richards wrote in a Jan. 29 decision that the conviction should be vacated because of a lack of evidence. Defense attorney Gary W. Miles filed the motion to withdraw Ms. Vaughn's plea last month.

"It would be manifestly unfair to allow this conviction to stand, when the similar charges against the other two defendants were dismissed on the law, before plea or verdict," Judge Richards wrote.

Her codefendants, Laura E. Douglass and Rachael S. Patterson, had charges of third-degree rape and third-degree criminal sexual act dismissed in recent months for the same reason.

In August, Judge Richards ruled in Ms. Douglass' case that prosecutors didn't provide enough evidence to determine "whether it is illegal or improper for an employee of the department of corrections to engage in sexual activity with an inmate."

Defense attorney Robert H. Ballan, representing Ms. Douglass, argued that state penal law related to sex crimes doesn't consider his client a state corrections "employee" because it defines workers as providing "custody, medical or mental health services, counseling services, educational programs or vocational training for inmates."

Both Ms. Douglass and Ms. Patterson still have charges pending on official misconduct, court officials said Friday.

District Attorney Nicole M. Duve said Friday her office is considering all options, including presenting Ms. Vaughn's case to a grand jury. Judge Richards wrote prosecutors could still present charges of official misconduct to a grand jury.

Ms. Vaughn plead to a superior court information, meaning she agreed to bypass the grand jury and go to court with a prearranged guilty plea, often to a lesser offense. She was a laundry supervisor at the medium-security state prison.

Mr. Miles couldn't be reached for comment Friday.