A former Snohomish County Jail custodial officer on Thursday pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree sexual misconduct for having illicit contact with a prisoner.
Snohomish County Superior Judge Larry McKeeman is scheduled to sentence William Adam Cassel, 52, of Arlington on Feb. 16. The crime is a gross misdemeanor.
Cassel was charged with three counts in September, and could have faced a year in jail. Under a plea agreement reached by his Everett attorney, Steve Garvey, two of the charges were dropped.
In addition, deputy prosecutor Diane Nipert agreed to recommend no jail time and two years of probation, she said.
The sexual activity happened in the jail between June and September 2004 with a 34-year-old female prisoner. She was awaiting resolution of a felony charge that eventually sent her to the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Purdy, documents said.
After she was sent to prison, Cassel and the woman maintained contact, according to documents. He wrote her more than 130 notes, cards and letters, prosecutors said.
In addition, he sent her gifts and a photo of his son, paid off some of her financial obligations and gave her about $700 to buy incidentals at Purdy, documents said.
The communications stopped when Purdy officials contacted the jail about the letters. Unaware why he had stopped writing her, the woman sent him several angry letters berating him for not keeping his promises, he said.
Although Cassel pleaded guilty, he didn’t take full responsibility.
In a statement attached to plea paperwork, Cassel said a jury could have found him guilty of a crime that would have resulted in jail time, and that’s why he took the prosecutor’s plea offer.
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