HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - A guard at a Connecticut prison turned herself in to authorities to face charges she exchanged letters with an inmate and lied about bringing a cellphone into the facility.

Oxford resident Jennie Reese, a corrections officer at Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown, is charged with taking unauthorized items into the prison and making a false statement.

Reese allegedly snuck in a phone to show explicit photos to an inmate who alleged he had a sexual encounter with her.

A Department of Correction official said officers are not allowed to have phones in the facilities and corresponding with inmates is prohibited unless they have written authorization.

Reese denies having inappropriate contact with the inmate and was released on $1,000 bond. She is to appear in court next on Aug. 6.