Dixon prison officer gets a year’s probation for relationship with inmate

DIXON – A former Dixon prison officer accused in charging documents of two felonies for engaging in an “intimate relationship” and “sexual conduct” with an inmate pleaded guilty Thursday to an amended charge of misdemeanor disorderly conduct.

Amber E. Stavenger, 35, of Sterling, and formerly of Rock Falls and Amboy, was charged Nov. 15 in Lee County court with two counts of official misconduct and one count of custodial sexual misconduct, each punishable by two to five years in prison.

On Thursday, those charges were amended to include disorderly conduct, punishment for which is 30 to 100 hours of community service or jail time.

Stavenger was sentenced to a year of probation and 30 hours of community service.

According to the new charge, Stavenger “knowingly engaged in conduct while in her position as a correctional officer in such an unreasonable manner as to alarm and disturb her fellow correctional officers and provoke a breach of peace.”

The other three counts were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

Charges were filed after an Illinois State Police investigation into communication the two had on an online inmate “pen pal” site, State’s Attorney Charley Boonstra has said.

The sexual contact occurred on or around June 18, 2022, according to the charging document.