Missouri Jail Inmate Charged With Raping Woman in Her Cell

A male inmate at a Missouri jail has been charged with raping a female inmate after another inmate freed him using a key that a guard left in a door.

The Jackson County prosecutor's office said Wednesday that 29-year-old Dontae Jefferson of Kansas City is also charged with burglary and sexual abuse in the incident at the Jackson County Regional Correctional Center.

It's unclear how Jefferson got inside the woman's cell.

Online court records don't list Jefferson's attorney. Bond is set at $1 million.

Another female inmate last month alleged she was assaulted in her cell, prompting an investigation into reports that three inmates were wandering freely in the jail. That investigation continues. An independent audit also was ordered.

Authorities subsequently removed nearly two dozen female inmates from the facility.