Minnesota prison guard accused of raping former inmate

*Disclaimer: Criminal complaints are based off law enforcement’s and prosecutor's interpretation of what a defendant did. They should not be considered factual by the public. All those charged with crimes are innocent until proven in a court of law. Any accusation in the below story comes from court documents unless expressly noted.*

MINNEAPOLIS – A 45-year-old prison guard is accused of raping a former inmate she met while he was imprisoned in Minnesota's Lino Lakes facility, according to charges filed in Hennepin County District Court this week.

Melissa Kay Dill, of Wyoming, Minn., is charged with felony third-degree criminal sexual conduct involving penetration while in a prohibited occupational relationship.

According to a complaint signed by Mark Koderick, of the Minnesota Department of Corrections Fugitive Unit, and Hennepin County prosecutor, Christopher Filipski, investigators with the Minnesota DOC received information in May that a man on supervised release was in a relationship with a prison guard employed by the DOC.

The man told police that the pair had sexual intercourse at a halfway house and at his Forest Lake residence.

Dill told police that she was in a “romantic relationship" with the man and did “what typical couples do."

Minnesota statute bars people in certain occupations, like teachers and police, from having sexual relationships with those they oversee. Due to the power imbalance in these situations, people like the victim in this case cannot give consent to a sexual relationship with someone like Dill.

The Minnesota DOC did not immediately respond to questions about whether Dill is still employed by the agency.

Dill is a lieutenant with the corrections department and has been employed by the agency since at least 2018, according to OpenPayrolls, a website dedicated to publishing public information about government employees.

Her first appearance is scheduled for August 11 at 1:30 p.m. in front of Judge Lisa Janzen in the Hennepin County Public Safety Center Rm. 141.

***For help following a sexual assault, please visit the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault to find advocacy and medical services.***