Teacher Arrested For Rape at Prison in Ulster County

A former teacher has been arrested after she allegedly had a sexual relationship with an incarcerated person while working at the Shawangunk Correctional Facility in Ulster County, NY.

A 50-year-old former teacher at the Shawangunk Correctional Facility has been arrested after an investigation into what officials called alleged inappropriate conduct with an incarcerated person.

Prison Employee Arrested in Ulster County, NY

50-year-old Marla Bastone of Ulster Park, NY, is facing multiple charges after an investigation revealed that she allegedly had a sexual relationship with an incarcerated person while working at the correctional facility in Wallkill, NY.

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Following the investigation, Bastone reportedly confessed to sexual offenses, smuggling in contraband, and other misconduct, according to WTEN. She was officially charged on November 25th, 2025, with third-degree rape with vaginal sexual contact of a person incapable of consent and under the age of 17, sexual abuse, promoting prison contraband, and official misconduct. She was released with tickets returnable to the Shawangunk Town Court at a later date.

Taught at Schools in the Hudson Valley, NY

According to the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision's Office of Special Investigations (DOCCS), Bastone began working as a teacher at the prison in December 2018 and remained in this position until her resignation on Tuesday, November 25, 2025.

In a statement posted by the Daily Freeman, DOCCS spokesperson Thomas Mailey said that Shawangunk prison officials contacted the DOCCS to report that Bastone was engaged in inappropriate activities with an incarcerated person.

Mailey said,

"OSI promptly dispatched investigators to the facility to conduct an investigation, which resulted in Ms. Bastone confessing to the sexual offenses, smuggling in contraband and other misconduct, for which she was charged. Ms. Bastone provided OSI her resignation."

 

Bastone was previously employed at schools across the Hudson Valley region including districts in Kingston, Poughkeepsie, Highland, Arlington, Wappingers, Catskill, Hunter-Tannersville, and by Dutchess County BOCES.