Inmate delivers baby boy

Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2004 | 9:39 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Korinda Martin, the inmate who says she was impregnated by a guard at the women's prison in North Las Vegas, gave birth to a boy Monday at Carson-Tahoe Hospital.

Glen Whorton, assistant director of the state Department of Corrections, said the birth came at 3:19 p.m.

He said DNA tests would be performed on the baby to determine the father, but he didn't say when. The prison system already has a DNA sample from the guard accused by Martin, Whorton said.

Martin has filed a suit in federal court in Las Vegas naming former Southern Nevada Women's Facility guard Randy Easter as the father.

Easter could not be reached for comment.

Martin, in her suit, said she "could not resist the sexual demands of Randy Easter due to the inherent power and control prison guards have over prisoners in a prison environment."

Whorton said the inspector general of the department is conducting an investigation to determine if criminal charges should be filed.

The law says a prisoner who is in custody who voluntarily engages in sexual conduct with another person is guilty of a felony. And the other person also faces a felony charge.

Martin is serving a two- to 10-year term for a robbery in Clark County and is eligible for parole in July 2005. If paroled, she must start serving a consecutive one- to four-year term for coercion.

When it was disclosed in July that Martin was pregnant, she was transferred from North Las Vegas to the regional medical center at the state prison in Carson City.

In her suit, she says she wants to raise her baby. But state officials say the prison is not the place to raise children and usually the infant is sent to live with relatives or placed in child protective services.