Three people have been charged after they allegedly used a 9-year-old girl to smuggle drugs into a Vermont prison.

According to CBS News, inmate Jason Watson, 28, is accused of arranging the deal. He and Sarah Watson, 34, allegedly planned the incident during several phone conversations. The recipient was another inmate, Chad Paquette, 38.

Sarah Watson and Paquette have reportedly pleaded guilty to their involvement in the September 10 incident at the Newport State Correctional Facility, which was observed by a corrections officer and caught by a surveillance camera.

The surveillance video reportedly shows the 9-year-old sitting at a table with Paquette during visiting hours. At one point, she looked to see if the corrections monitor was looking her way, then appeared to remove something from around her waist and passed it to Paquette under the table.

The monitor “observed inmate Paquette lower his head and place his arms close to his face,” then put something into his mouth.

The inmate was reportedly placed in “dry cell” where he had to defecate into a bucket containing a bio bag.

Three days after that, “Paquette produced a fecal sample that contained a small cellophane bundle.”

The plastic-wrapped drugs included six orange strips containing Buprenorphine, according to Caledonian Record.

Jason Watson pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to deliver and sell a regulated drug and to contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Sarah Watson pleaded guilty to drug possession, transporting drugs into the prison and contributing to the delinquency of a minor after she instructed the 9-year-old on how to pass the drugs to Paquette.

A judge accepted Sarah Watson’s plea deal. She was sentenced to 6 to 12 months, all suspended. She was also sentenced to a year of probation, in addition to drug screening and treatment, reparative board, and possible restrictions on associates.

Paquette pleaded guilty to drug possession. The state dropped a charge of transporting drugs into a detention center.

Both Jason Watson and Paquette are serving sentences for drug charges.

[Feature photo: Pixabay]