A Schuylkill County correctional officer charged with drug offenses has his job back.

After an executive session, the county Prison Board on Wednesday agreed to allow Robert L. Murton to come back to work because he was accepted into the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program.Acceptance into the program does not mean the accused was found guilty or admits to the charges.The program is for first-time offenders, whose records may be expunged if they successfully complete it."We had no choice," said Prison Board chairman George F. Halcovage Jr. "ARD is not an admission of guilt. We had no grounds to deny him."The state Office of the Attorney General on Dec. 1 charged Murton, 39, of Pottsville, with acquiring or obtaining possession of a controlled substance by misrepresentation and intent to possess a controlled substance by a person not registered.He did not bring any drugs into the prison, Halcovage has said.County commissioners on Dec. 23, 2015, suspended him without pay.Murton has the right to try to recoup his pay for that period through the grievance process.President Judge William E. Baldwin admitted Murton into ARD on March 17.