Ex-Wyoming probation officer pleads guilty to sexual assault
CASPER, Wyo. (AP) - A former probation officer in Wyoming has pleaded guilty to sexual assault after disclosing a physical relationship with a parolee under her supervision.
Lindsey Shablo of Casper entered her guilty plea on Tuesday in Natrona County District Court to a single charge of second-degree sexual assault under an agreement that limits her prison sentence to three years, the Casper Star-Tribune reported Tuesday.
The maximum sentence for second-degree sexual assault is 20 years.
Shablo said during Tuesday's change-of-plea hearing that she had sex with a parolee while employed by the Wyoming Department of Corrections. She originally pleaded not guilty in August. Defense attorney Don Fuller confirmed that the inmate was under Shablo's direct supervision for a period.
Correctional employees cannot receive consent under state law to a sexual relationship with someone they are supervising.
Shablo allegedly told investigators she had sex with the parolee, who remained unidentified, two or three times between December 2018 and February 2019. The man confirmed the physical relationship in a recorded phone call between him and his girlfriend in February 2020.
Authorities reportedly began looking into the relationship in 2019 when another probation officer heard the two had slept together and that Shablo was possibly pregnant. Both denied the relationship at the time, and the pregnancy rumor was proven false.
The Department of Corrections told the Star-Tribune last year that Shablo left her position in April after three years with the agency. Shablo now awaits a final decision on her sentence. She must also register and maintain status as a sex offender.
