'Not Guilty' Plea From Corrections Officer Accused of Sexual Contact with Inmate

Boston, MA - A corrections officer accused of having sexual contact with an inmate entered a "not guilty" plea Thursday, as prosecutors described video evidence and a sexually explicit letter that indicate improper relations.

Marlon Juba, 29, was arraigned in South Boston Municipal Court, following his arrest by Boston Police Wednesday. He is accused of having sexual contact with the female victim while she was in custody at the South Bay House of Correction, where he was a corrections officer. The victim is no longer at South Bay, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office said.

He is charged under Ch. 268, Sect. 21A, of the Massachusetts General Laws, which presumes that inmates are unable to consent to sexual contact with employees of jails, prisons and houses of correction, and which carries a maximum penalty of five years in state prison, according to the district attorney's office.

Originally under scrutiny for potentially bringing drugs or other contraband into South Bay, investigators learned Juba may have had improper relations with an inmate, prosecutors said Thursday.

According to the DA's office, sheriff’s investigators conducted interviews, reviewed surveillance camera footage and gathered other forms of evidence suggesting that he had an improper sexual relationship with a specific female inmate, leading to his suspension from duty. Included in that sweep, the DA's office said, was a sexually explicit letter to Juba from the inmate and, according to The Boston Globe, video that allegedly shows him entering and leaving her cell -- readjusting his pants and belt on at least one occasion.

Juba was held Thursday on a $20,000 bail. He will return to court on Aug. 23.