BSO Jail Employees Deny Having Sex With Inmates, Admit to Inappropriate Contact

The two Broward Sheriff's Office employees who were arrested for inappropriate contact with two inmates say they never had sex with the men, though BSO is saying otherwise.

According to a BSO report, detention deputy Tara Clark, 37, and detention technician Genice Cisnow, 26, spent "countless hours socializing and engaging in sexual acts with two male inmates."

The two women, who were arrested Wednesday, admitted to having contact with the inmates but deny ever having sex with them.

"When confronted with the information, both women admitted to the inappropriate contact and acknowledged it could have resulted in a serious security breach," BSO spokesperson Keyla Concepcion says. "Both denied having sexual intercourse with the inmates." 

BSO says that Clark and Cisnow falsified their work logs to make it appear that they properly conducted their assigned tasks at the BSO North Broward Bureau, where they worked. 

Clark's job was to conduct inmate bed checks and inspections and to log a head count. Cisnow's job consisted of monitoring inmates’ activities and ensuring the officers’ safety from a control room. But public corruption investigators who began monitoring the women after being tipped off say that Clark had spent time with an inmate in the hallway, while Cisnow had allowed another inmate inside the secured control room during the midnight shift.

In the week the two women were monitored, the women were seen letting the inmates touch their legs and inner thighs. Clark was allegedly spotted putting her head in an inmate's groin area, according to an arrest warrant. 

BSO Sheriff Scott Israel called the women's crime "a serious security breach."

"These women could have been hurt, the inmates could have been hurt, other inmates could have been hurt, other detention personnel could have been hurt, these inmates could have escaped," Israel said in a news conference Wednesday. 

The inmates the women had contact with, Carlton Lowe and Frankie Quinn, are serving time for crimes such as strong-arm robbery, robbery with a firearm, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and escape, according to BSO. According to the warrant, Clark and Cisnow told investigators they had engaged in inappropriate activity with the two men because they were going through hard times and needed someone to talk to.

Clark, who has been with BSO since 2007, and Cisnow, who has worked for the agency since 2012, are facing multiple charges of official misconduct and have been suspended without pay.

Clark was being held on $50,000 bond Wednesday, while Cisnow was being held on $75,000 bond.

• Broward News