RALEIGH – Rashonda Cross dodged any significant time behind bars, but the former Rivers Correctional Institution officer will pay for her crime.

Entering a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, Cross was sentenced on Dec. 20 by United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan to three years probation, 45 days of intermittent confinement, and a $100 special assessment.

Investigation into the case revealed that Cross, while employed as a correctional officer at the Rivers Correctional Institution located near Winton, accepted payments from inmates within the facility in return for smuggling in contraband items such as cell phones and cigarettes. It further showed that some inmates paid bribes to correctional officers to gain their cooperation in the scheme.

Four others have been previously convicted and sentenced for their conduct in the scheme. They are:

Former Rivers Correctional Officer Rhonda Boyd was sentenced in July of this year to 20 months imprisonment; Former Rivers Correctional Officer Raye Lynn Holley was sentenced this past October 20 months imprisonment; Former Rivers Correctional inmate Roland Bazemore was sentenced in April to 30 months imprisonment; and

Former Rivers Correctional inmate Kenneth Dodd was sentenced in October  to 37 months imprisonment.

Investigation of this case was conducted by the Department of Justice, Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance provided by the United States Postal Inspection Service.