COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A prison guard has been fired for allegedly having sex with Susan Smith, who is serving a life sentence for drowning her two sons in a lake, corrections officials said.

During an investigation of a tabloid report that Smith was beaten in prison, she told investigators about four sexual encounters with a guard earlier this year, Corrections Department spokesman John Barkley said.

Lt. Houston Cagle, 50, was removed from the department's payroll Wednesday and fired Thursday, Barkley said. He had worked at the Women's Correctional Institution since 1996.

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