Newell was charged with two counts of sexual battery and illegal conveyance into a detention facility for allegedly having sex with a male inmate at the Hanover Street corrections facility.
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Newell was scheduled for a preliminary hearing Tuesday on the initial charges, but prosecutors told her attorney an indictment had been returned by the Butler County grand jury.
Newell, her attorney Mike Allen, and Assistant Butler County Prosecutor Kelly Heile then moved to Butler County Common Pleas Court Judge Greg Stephens’ courtroom, where Newell was arraigned on the indicted charges of two counts of sexual battery, a third-degree felony, and one count of illegal conveyance into a detention facility, a first-degree misdemeanor.
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Allen entered a not guilty plea on Newell’s behalf and requested the $5,000 bond posted in municipal court be transferred to common pleas court.
Newell is the mother of four children and is not a flight risk, Allen said.
“She’s not going anywhere,” he said. The attorney declined to comment after the hearing.
Stephens granted the transfer of bond, but ordered Newell taken into custody until the transfer took place.
Newell, who was employed as a corrections officer for 18 months, is also accused of bringing a cell phone and electronic cigarettes into the jail. She was fired from her position after being charged.
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Butler County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Mike Craft said an observant corrections sergeant brought information to administrators and an investigation into possible criminal activity began.
During questioning about the contraband, Newell confessed to having sex with a male inmate, Craft said.
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