By ANDY GARDNER

CANTON -- District Attorney Mary Rain is denying allegations that she used a county jail inmate as an agent of her office to secure a confession from another inmate.

The FBI is looking into whether she used Kyle Travis to get a signed and notarized confession from Pierre Bond earlier in the year behind Bond’s attorney’s back, in violation of Bond’s civil rights.

Federal law states that all questioning of a defendant after they have asked for an attorney must be done in the presence of legal counsel.

“Kyle Travis’ attorney agrees that Mr. Travis is unreliable and at no time was an agent of this office,” Rain said in a prepared statement released Thursday afternoon.

In a document confirmed by the St. Lawrence County Court Clerk’s office to be an authentic transcript of June 8 proceedings against Travis, Rain says she used Bond’s confession to assist her in getting him to plead to charges resulting in a 21-year sentence.

“Judge, I’ve had no contact with Mr. Travis. I had initial contact with Mr. Narrow as it relates to a confession that he brought to me that was signed and notarized by Pierre Bond, and I was able to effectively use that to assist me in the 21-year sentence that he got,” Rain is quoted as saying in the transcript.

Rain says she offered Bond the 21-year plea on Jan. 14, received Bond’s statement from Travis’ attorney at the time on Apr. 14 and verified its authenticity on Apr. 28.

“The plea entered by Pierre Bond on April 29, 2014 was exactly the plea offered on Jan. 14, 2014,” Rain said in the statement.

According to the court transcript, Travis never says he had a direct conversation with Rain.

“I was under the assumption of hoping that I was promised something from the District Attorney’s office. That I was promised to a lesser sentence if this information was given forward,” the document quotes Travis as saying at the June 8 proceeding for a probation violation. “I spoke with my attorney, who … relayed the message back to me that if my assistance -- if I gave up the piece of paper that was to help in the assistance of the prosecution, that I would get a promised sentence of a lesser time in prison.”

Rain’s statement in its entirety:

“On January 14, 2014, 13 days after I took office, a chambers conference was held regarding Pierre Bond. His attorney, Stephen Button, Judge Richards, and myself were present.

The offer was a ‘B Violent Felony with 21 years in state prison.’ On March 20, 2014, in a letter to Mr. Button, and copied to Judge Richards, that offer was finalized as the only offer short of trial.

On April 15, 2014, at the request of his client, Attorney Edward Narrow (Kyle Travis’ attorney) provided me, Nicole Duve, and Judge Richards what was purported to be a signed statement of Pierre Bond’s dated April 14, 2014. The authenticity of that statement was verified on April 28, 2014. By that time, Mr. Bond’s attorney had already scheduled the plea.

Rain states, ‘Kyle Travis’ attorney agrees that Mr. Travis is unreliable and at no time was an agent of this office. The plea entered by Pierre Bond on April 29, 2014 was exactly the plea offered on January 14, 2014.’”