Sex, deception and blackmail take center stage in court documents related to the indictments of Bradford Howard and Glen Works, both former correctional officers at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham.

In an affidavit filed in Cumberland County Superior Court, investigator Peter Herring alleges that Howard, 36, of Lyman, had sex with a female prisoner in a prison broom closet on consecutive nights in February. He then repeated the act with another prisoner a week later.

Superintendent Scott Burnheimer said Works, 45, of Mechanic Falls, knew of Howard’s behavior but did not report the incidents in a timely manner, though he did report it.

“There is a responsibility to report anything they knew, and there was a time delay,” said Burnheimer, adding that the prison had a “zero tolerance policy” when it came to improper conduct by its officers.

Both of the officers were indicted July 11 by a Cumberland County grand jury, Howard on four counts of gross sexual assault, and Works on one count of gross sexual assault and two counts of failure to report the sexual assault of person in custody. The indictment alleges that Works abetted Howard in the latter’s sexual assault. Howard had been arrested on the charges in April. Both have resigned from the prison.

According to the affidavit, prison security cameras show Howard and a female prisoner heading in the direction of the broom closet just after midnight Feb. 8, and then leaving the site an hour later.

At around the same time the following night, Howard and the prisoner again approached the area containing the closet. Just after 1 a.m. Feb. 15, Howard is shown on video walking with another female prisoner in the direction of the closet.

In interviews with Herring transcribed in the affidavit, prisoners in the Women’s Center described animosity between the two female prisoners allegedly involved with Howard. They also spoke of a letter from one of the prisoners that detailed the sexual activity between her and Howard.

According to Herring, the letter was later used by another prisoner to blackmail Howard, who was planning on moving a prisoner to segregation for creating a disturbance. The letter holder told Howard “she had this letter and given its content it would be in his best interest not to move” the prisoner, Herring wrote.

The letter, which Herring was told was later destroyed, may have also stated that the prisoner was worried she had become pregnant by Howard, though according to the interviews that may have been added to the letter as it was passed around the prison.

Works approached Herring with information regarding Howard’s actions Feb. 26. The affidavit shows that Works recalled a couple of nights when Howard removed a prisoner from her cell after midnight and “disappeared.”

Works also stated that he became worried after repeatedly finding Howard sitting on a couch with the inmates in question “acting as if they were boyfriend and girlfriend,” Herring wrote. Works said he would cooperate with the investigation, he added.

But Works did not come forward fast enough, Burnheimer said, leading to the charges.

“We are sure that every employee knows the consequences, knows what the boundaries are, and knows what the red flags are,” he said.

Burnheimer said sexual relationships between guards and prisoners can lead to safety issues inside the prison, especially by allowing blackmail to enter the situation.

“It’s about balance of power,” he said. “When you give into boundary issues, the power swing goes to the prisoner.”

In such cases, the officer can be forced to allow weapons or drugs into the prison, Burnheimer said. If other guards are not aware that a prisoner has a weapon or is intoxicated, “they can be walking into a situation where the prisoner might be dangerous,” he said.

Correctional Center officials are always stressing the importance of boundary issues, Burnheimer said, and guards are told to talk to prisoners about issues impacting the prisoners’ lives. The officers should not be discussing their own personal matters, he said.

Unfortunately, the actions of Howard and Works reflect poorly on the rest of the officers, Burnheimer said.

“Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of these employees are very dedicated,” he said.