Former Deer Ridge prison contract worker gets 10-day jail term, 3 years probation for sexual relationship with inmate
Harley Coldiron
(Update: Jefferson County DA’s Office recused itself from case; defendant had worked as trial assistant)
MADRAS, Ore. (KTVZ) — Jobett Christine Zamora pleaded guilty to one count of custodial misconduct and received a sentence of 10 days in jail and three years’ probation for having a sexual relationship with an inmate at Deer Ridge State Prison in Madras, while working there as a contractor for Oregon Corrections Enterprises.
Court documents reviewed by KTVZ News show the 40-year-old Madras resident engaged in an act of sexual intercourse with an inmate at least twice while working at Deer Ridge as a contractor.
The two incidents happened between December 2022 and July 2023, which led to her two felony charges of first-degree custodial sexual misconduct and a misdemeanor charge of first-degree official misconduct.
Zamora pleaded guilty to one of the felony charges. In exchange, she had her other felony and misdemeanor charges dropped.
KTVZ News also learned Zamora was a trial assistant for the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office from 2019 to 2021. In light of this, the DA’s office had to recuse itself, leaving Deschutes County District Attorney Steve Gunnels to prosecute the case.
At the time of the relationship, Zamora was a contractor worker at Deer Ridge for Oregon Corrections Enterprises (OCE).
OCE is a semi-independent stage agency funded through the products and services it provides. The revolutionary program works inside Oregon’s prisons, providing training and career opportunities for inmates.
The inmate is not named in the charging documents. It’s not clear how the relationship surfaced, though charging documents indicate the encounters were likely caught on camera.