A married New Jersey corrections officer has been charged with sexually abusing an inmate after federal authorities say she carried on a lengthy sexual relationship with a prisoner at a low-security federal prison, complete with office encounters, paid lookouts, and explicit text messages that included talk of vibrating underwear and fears she might be pregnant with the inmate’s child.
Jordan Pensak, 27, of Middlesex County, was charged with one count of sexual abuse of an individual in federal custody, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced. Pensak worked as a corrections officer at the Federal Correctional Institution at Fort Dix in Burlington County. She made her initial court appearance July 28 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth A. Pascal in Camden and was released on bail. If convicted, she faces up to 15 years in prison.
According to the criminal complaint and court statements, Pensak began working in the inmate’s housing unit in April 2024. Prosecutors allege the relationship started shortly afterward and continued for more than a year. The pair allegedly had sex multiple times inside a prison office. To avoid detection, the inmate paid other prisoners to serve as lookouts who would warn them if other officers approached.
Investigators recovered more than 100 sexually explicit photographs, videos, and messages exchanged between Pensak and the inmate. The inmate used two contraband cell phones to facilitate the communications through social media and messaging apps.
Court documents detail some of the graphic exchanges. In one, the inmate told Pensak, “I’m getting you vibrating panties.” The two then discussed the idea, with Pensak later referencing “those big man hands.”
In January 2026, amid an ongoing investigation after another inmate reportedly “snitched,” Pensak texted someone authorities believe was a former inmate: “I’m 3 days late for my period you ready to be an uncle? That ain’t good for this investigation. If the baby black and my husband white and Korean?!”
She later told a family member of the inmate, “I have to take a pregnancy test. I’m a week late,” and added she was “not mentally ready for a baby. Not without him being here.” In another message she wrote, “I kind of wish I was pregnant just to know its possible.”
Pensak also acknowledged the relationship in messages, telling one person the pair had been together “for the past year.” When warned she could face prison time, she replied, “Yes I know.” In other texts she discussed nearly being caught during an encounter when a lookout “knocked on the door and opened it without us saying s***” and complained about less reliable lookouts who almost exposed the inmate’s private parts.
Pensak referred to her husband—described in messages as white and Korean—while expressing concern about the potential racial implications of a pregnancy. Authorities say she admitted the relationship to multiple people, including family members of the inmate.
The investigation was led by the FBI and the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General. Contraband phones recovered from inmates in 2025 helped spark the probe. Search warrants on Pensak’s phone and Instagram account, along with the inmate’s social media, uncovered the explicit material.
Federal law treats any sexual contact between a corrections officer and an inmate as abuse, regardless of claims of consent, because of the inherent power imbalance.
Pensak’s attorney, Mark Catanzaro, declined to comment. The charges are accusations, and Pensak is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has not publicly detailed her current employment status.
Flip the pages for photos of Pensak’s Thirst traps.
