A correctional officer arrested for sexually assaulting an inmate at the Burnet County Jail is out on bail.

Thomas Joe Pheifer, 48, was arrested in August after investigators pursued several complaints from an inmate.

Pheifer was not employed with the Burnet County Sheriff's Office at the time of his arrest. He had been fired earlier that month for administrative policy violations.

Pheifer was booked and released from the Burnet County Jail on Aug. 29.

He now faces one charge of sexual assault, a second-degree felony. It's punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.