A 25-year-old corrections officer accused of having consensual sex with an inmate is heading to a grand jury.
Hayes resident Alexander M. Koehler waived his preliminary hearing Thursday for a felony charge of having carnal knowledge of a prisoner. A grand jury will determine whether there is enough evidence to move the case forward.
He was arrested in July after admitting to allegations of having sexual relations with an inmate in an interview with James City County Police.
Koehler told officers he flirted with a 30-year-old inmate at the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail while she cleaned the medical wing, according to a criminal complaint filed against Koehler in the Williamsburg-James City County Courthouse.
He told the officer “one thing led to another” and when he asked the inmate what she wanted, she replied “I’ve been here eight months, what do you think I want?”
The two met in the jail’s laundry room, where the inmate performed oral sex on the officer before the two engaged in sexual intercourse, the complaint states.
There was never a point where the inmate told him to stop, and there was no indication she did not consent to sex, Koehler said in the interview with the police.
Under the federal criminal code, consent by a prisoner is not a legal defense because of the inherently unequal positions of prisoners and staff, according to the Department of Justice.
A misdemeanor charge of sexual battery was dropped against Koehler Thursday during his hearing in Williamsburg-James City County District Court.
He posted a $10,000 bail, according to court records. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
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