A former Lake County jail correctional officer has been charged with misconduct after authorities say she engaged in sexual contact last year with an inmate.

       Elizabeth A. Blomstrand, 40, of Gurnee, was taken into custody on felony counts of custodial sexual misconduct and official misconduct, according to the Lake County sheriff’s office.

       She is alleged to have engaged in sexual contact on at least two occasions in December with an inmate. Blomstrand had been placed on administrative leave and resigned in late December after her jail supervisors initiated an investigation, officials said.

       According to the sheriff’s office, a supervisor who was relieving Blomstrand after a December evening shift entered the jail pod and found an inmate outside his cell at a time when he should have been confined. That started the investigation by the sheriff’s Office of Professional Standards.

       Although Blomstrand resigned, the probe continued and turned into a criminal investigation when the evidence of sexual contact was discovered, officials said.

       Authorities arrested her Friday after they surveilled an area where they believed Blomstrand would be, and then took her into custody after a traffic stop.

       Bail was set at $50,000. She is due to appear in court Thursday.

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