A St. Joseph man has been charged after an inmate in the Buchanan County jail alleged she was inappropriately touched.

Carlos Marte, 40 is charged in Buchanan County with a felony of sexual contact with a prisoner.  The charge carries a range of punishment of a maximum of one year in county jail or two to four years in the department of corrections.

According to court documents, on May 27th around 6 p.m. an inmate in the Buchanan County jail said Marte touched her genitals under the guise of conducting a physical examination.

“The defendant is an employee of Advanced Correctional Healthcare with whom Buchanan County contracts to provide medical care for inmates under their custody,” said Thomas Cates with the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department. “The procedure during which the defendant touched the genitals of the victim, according to policies of the medical provider and statements taken from representatives of the provider, is not the type procedure during which any physical contact is require or should take place.”

The felony complaint alleges the defendant was assigned to work in the jail and knowingly had deviate sexual intercourse with an inmate of the jail by touching her with his hand.

As we previously reported, the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office said as soon as a complaint was submitted it began investigating.  The department said it submitted two cases for consideration of charges Tuesday.

Bail for Marte is set at $10,000 cash.  An arraignment had not been set as of 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.