Ex-Michigan Corrections Officer Pleads Guilty To Sexual Contact With Inmate, Smuggling Contraband

Cara Wozniak (Linkedin)

Cara Wozniak, a former corrections officer at the Milan Federal Correctional Institution, outside of Ann Arbor, pleaded guilty Thursday to having sexual contact with a male inmate and

smuggling contraband into the prison for him.

Federal law and prison rules prohibit sexual contact between staff members and inmates.

“Corrections Officers are entrusted with the critical responsibility of managing the security of our federal prisons," said U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison in a statement. "Ms. Wozniak’s conduct in this case was an abuse of that trust and created a security risk for everyone at the institution. Sexual contact between inmates and Corrections Officers is never acceptable, nor is the smuggling of contraband into prison."

Wozniak, 33, started working at Milan in November 2022. Authorities allege on two occasions in the fall of 2023, Wozniak had sexual intercourse with an inmate who was under her custody and control. She also bought pouches of loose tobacco for the inmnate from a smoke shop in Milan and smuggled them into the prison for him.

In September 2023, she purchased a gold necklace which she secretly brought into the prison and gave him. 

Sentencing is set for next Feb 5. She faces up to 15 years in prison for the sexual contact and six months for the contraband.