Female prison officer who wrote love poems to prisoner is jailed

 A 44-year-old woman has been imprisoned after a court heard that she wrote love poems to a prisoner at HMP Channings Wood, where she worked.

The woman, a mother of three, pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office and was given a six-month sentence.

The court had heard she had developed a secret relationship with the man, who is serving an indefinite sentence for a sexual offence, while she was supervising him. Whilst the Judge accepted there had been no physical contact between them, she had written him to him on numerous occasions, gave him Valentine’s cards, and written him love poetry with sexual references.

The prison suspected that there was an improper link between them, and so he was transferred to another prison in January 2023. However the woman continued to keep in contact with him, including by using unregistered mobile phones and by listing a false name on the prison contact list, whilst claiming to be a relative of his. The prison then recorded conversations referring to their professed love for each other.

A search of her house by police found her hidden mobile phones, and she was arrested and charged. The judge told her that, despite there being no physical relationship, their affair was highly sexual and that, despite learning she is now remarried, six months’ incarceration was appropriate.