COLUMBIA, S.C. | A former prison officer accused of having sex with a convicted killer serving a life sentence was arrested Friday, authorities said.

Jessica Nicole James, 24, was suspected of having sex with inmate Jonathan Dowdy last year and charged with first-degree sexual misconduct with an inmate, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said.

A sworn statement says the two had sex at Broad River Correctional Institution in June 2006, a maximum-security facility in Columbia.

Dowdy, 28, began serving his sentence for the Richland County crime in November 1994, according to the state prison system's Web site.

Also announced Friday, a former officer with the Department of Juvenile Justice was accused of kissing and inappropriately touching an inmate, authorities said.

Karmen Nicole Chavis, 26, was arrested Thursday and charged with second-degree misconduct with an inmate. A sworn statement said the events occurred between May 21 and July 5 with a male inmate, who was not identified.

It was unclear whether the women had attorneys. James' phone number was not listed and Chavis, of Columbia, was being held at the Richland County jail. No one answered at her home phone.

http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/article/20070803/APN/708030915