Atchinson ? An Atchison County deputy was arrested and charged with having sex with an inmate at the county jail, the Sheriff’s Department said Friday.

Travis McBride, 28, was arrested Thursday and charged with four felony counts of unlawful sexual relations with an inmate, Sheriff John Calhoon said in a news release.

McBride, a deputy since August 2003, was suspended without pay after his arrest and was in the Jefferson County jail on Friday.

Calhoon said the investigation began Thursday, and all of the alleged incidents happened within the past 10 days.

“It is very disappointing to myself and the staff at the Atchison County Sheriff’s Office,” Calhoon said. “However, we are entrusted to serve and protect.”

McBride had recently been assigned to jail duty for medical reasons, the sheriff said, declining to elaborate.