A guard at the Fort Dix federal prison had a yearlong sexual relationship with a prisoner, feds say

A guard at a federal prison in Fort Dix, Burlington County, had a lengthy sexual relationship with a prisoner and sometimes paid other inmates to act as lookouts while the two had sex in an office, according to federal authorities.

Jordan Pensak of North Brunswick was charged this week with sexual abuse of a person in custody, court records show.

Pensak’s relationship with the prisoner — whom authorities did not identify — began after she started working on his unit in 2024, according to a criminal complaint. A witness reported the pair’s suspected encounters to law enforcement, the complaint said, saying Pensak and the man had sex “multiple times” in an office as the paid lookouts stood nearby and watched for other corrections officers.

Investigators found more than 100 sexually explicit photos and messages that Pensak and the prisoner shared on Instagram and on cell phones the man apparently possessed while behind bars, the complaint said.

At times, the document said, Pensak was overt in the messages about her relationship with the prisoner, writing in a January message to an unidentified recipient that she had been in the relationship “for the past year” and that she didn’t intend to end it.

A month later, the complaint said, when someone else asked Pensak if she knew she could be criminally charged and go to jail for her actions, she wrote back: “Yes I know.”

Pensak also sent messages to people earlier this year in which she detailed a pregnancy scare, the complaint said. At one point, she said that if she were pregnant, the baby would be a different race than her husband, and that it “ain’t good for this investigation.”

A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons declined to comment on the allegations against Pensak, but did say Pensak had been placed on administrative leave.

Attempts to reach Pensak’s lawyer for comment Wednesday were not immediately successful.