Two women who were employed at the DeKalb County Jail are now facing charges of their own after they were named in sealed indictments by the DeKalb County Grand Jury. The women, who worked as food service providers at the jail and not for the DeKalb Sheriff’s Department were charged for having sexual contact with an inmate.

According to the indictment, 29-year-old Jessica Ann Perez and 50-year-old Edna Viola Pentz, both of Underhill Road, Smithville, are each under a $10,000 bond and will appear in court on August 7. Both worked for a contractor with the county to operate the food service in the jail. They have both been terminated from the company.

The indictments allege, “Between the dates of March 1, 2023, and April 11, 2023, in DeKalb County, and before the finding of this indictment, Jessica Ann Perez and Edna Viola Pentz did engage in sexual contact with a prisoner or inmate who is in custody at a penal institution (DeKalb County Jail).”

According to the sheriff’s department, this case involved two inmates and the alleged sexual contact involved touching or oral acts, not intercourse.