Baylor security boss arrested for sex with female inmate

The security chief at Delaware's women's prison was arrested for having sex with a 27-year-old female inmate, state police said Tuesday.

Major Fred Way III, the No. 3 official of about 200 employees at Baylor Women's Correctional Institution, turned himself in to police Tuesday afternoon. An investigation by state police showed Way had sex with the inmate on at least two occasions dating back to June 12.

Way was charged with two counts of sexual relations in a detention facility, a class G felony, and one count of official misconduct, Sgt. Richard D. Bratz said. He has since been released on $5,000 unsecured bond.

Under Delaware law, someone convicted of a class G felony can get 0 to 2 years in prison. However, sentencing guidelines used by Delaware judges urge no more than six months behind bars.

The official misconduct charge is a misdemeanor punishable under Delaware law by up to one year in prison but sentencing guidelines call for probation.

Further details on the relationship between Way and the female inmate were not available, as police records surrounding the case are sealed.

Way was placed on administrative leave on June 19 and continues to receive his $68,200 annual salary, said Correction Commissioner Robert M. Coupe. However, Media Relations Chief Jason Miller said the department intends to change Way's status to administrative leave without pay.

The commissioner released the following written statement after Way's arrest Tuesday.

"Delaware law and Department of Correction policy strictly prohibit inappropriate relationships between correctional staff and any offender under our supervision, and we promote an environment that urges anyone to report suspicious behavior to our staff," Coupe said. "This investigation began when such a report was made to, and immediately acted upon by, the leadership of the Baylor Women's Correctional Institution. The alleged conduct puts the safety of all our inmates, staff, and visitors at risk, and is made more egregious by implicating a senior member of the security staff. We cannot comment about the specific facts of this criminal case, which will now make its way through the criminal justice system."

Miller said Way's initial suspension was "part of an internal investigation concerning potential violations of Department of Correction policy. The investigation is active and ongoing."

Sources familiar with the case who requested anonymity said Way was being investigated for having sex with a woman serving a lengthy term for a violent crime. Delaware law forbids corrections employees to have sexual contact or relations with an inmate. The News Journal does not identify victims of alleged sex crimes.

Efforts to reach Way, who lists an address in the Dover area, have been unsuccessful.

Way, 50, has been a correctional officer since 1988 and has been promoted over the years to the post of security superintendent, known as major, of which there are seven in the state. The only higher ranking officials within Delaware's prisons are eight wardens and nine deputy wardens.

In June 2014, Way was promoted from captain to major and transferred from the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution in Wilmington to the Baylor prison, Miller said. At Baylor, which houses about 400 inmates and detainees who cannot post bail, Wendi Caple is the warden and Robert May is deputy warden.

Court records show that Way cost state taxpayers about $100,000 in compensatory and punitive damages for mistreating a blind, diabetic inmate during the late 1990s.

A jury found that Way subjected Roger Atkinson, a former smoker, to cruel and unusual punishment by subjecting him to secondhand smoke from two inmates who frequently smoked in his cell. After he sued, court records show, Way retaliated in several ways, such as cursing at him, putting him in solitary confinement during recreation periods, reading his personal mail and court case notes over the prison intercom and refusing to let him call his attorney.

Way also threatened to "kick his ass," Atkinson claimed, and once pulled him from his bed while he slept, saying he thought he was dead, court records showed.

Way appealed, but then-U.S. District Judge Joseph J. Farnan Jr. denied the motion in 2004. Miller said after an appeal to the federal appeals court, the parties agreed to settle the case "for less than" $100,000, though he was not sure of the exact amount. Miller said the case records are archived.

Way also has been arrested three times as he has worked his way up the ranks in the Department of Correction.

In September 2001, after he had been promoted to corporal and then sergeant in the previous four months, Way was charged with drunken driving, according to Court of Common Pleas records. He was convicted in January 2002. He remained on probation for two years, when Judge Joseph F. Flickinger III discharged him "as unimproved."

Details about the crime and his probation problems could not be learned. Case files for that arrest – and two subsequent ones – are stored in state archives.

In August 2002, while on probation for the drunken driving conviction, Way was charged with disorderly conduct. Prosecutors dropped those charges three months later.

That December, Way was charged with driving without a valid license. He pleaded not guilty but didn't appear for his trial in February 2004, leading a judge to issue a capias warrant for his arrest. He pleaded guilty that March and was ordered to pay $125 in fines and court costs.

Those brushes with the law didn't stop Way's rise within the correctional officer ranks. There are about 1,750 correctional officers in the state.

In April 2005, he was promoted to lieutenant, then in 2010 to staff lieutenant. He became captain in 2013 and in June 2014 became a major and was sent to the Baylor, where many of the guards and other staff are men, Miller said.

Contact senior investigative reporter Cris Barrish at (302) 324-2785, cbarrish@delawareonline.com, on Facebook or Twitter @crisbarrish. Contact Brittany Horn at (302) 324-2771 or bhorn@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @brittanyhorn.