AUBURN – A former jail guard was ordered Friday to pay a $1,000 fine for assaulting a female inmate last October.

Richard Adams, 30, was initially charged with gross sexual assault after a female inmate at the Androscoggin County Jail alleged he had her perform oral sex on him while he was on duty and told her not to tell anybody.

In Maine, gross sexual assault is the equivalent of rape, and sex between a guard and an inmate is considered rape because of the “supervisory or disciplinary authority” that a corrections officer has over a prisoner.

The state, however, decided not to pursue the rape charge.

Assistant District Attorney Deborah Cashman told a judge Friday that several witnesses had changed their stories over recent months, and the state’s case had become too weak to take it to trial.

As a result, the state agreed to a plea bargain in which Adams pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor assault.

In addition to the $1,000 fine, Adams agreed as part of the deal not to pursue a career in law enforcement.

Adams came to court Friday with his girlfriend. He kept his hands in his pockets and his head down as the female inmate, 26-year-old Christie Jordan, read aloud a letter to him.

“I’ve known you for five years. I’ve known you to be a trustworthy officer,” she said. “But, on that Thursday night, you must have forgotten who you were.”

Jordan, who is serving time in the Auburn jail for assaulting a woman in Lewiston, told Adams that she has been harassed and threatened as a result of what happened.

“I will never be able to trust another law officer again,” she said. Adams was placed on administrative leave immediately after Jordan came forward with her allegations.

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