LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A former Nebraska State Penitentiary staffer has been accused of illegally sending a letter to an inmate.

Court records say 27-year-old Aleasha Gutierrez, of Lincoln, is charged with unlawful acts by a corrections employee. A public phone listing couldn’t be found for her Tuesday. The records don’t list an attorney for her.

A court document says Gutierrez admitted to a corrections department investigator that she’d sent the letter to the prisoner in October. She told the investigator that the inmate had seen her crying and asked her about her life. She confided her problems to him, and he gave her his mother’s name and phone number. He told her his mother could listen to her talk about her problems.

A spokeswoman says the department fired Gutierrez Oct. 23.