Hunt for jail Romeo who had telephone intercourse with guard AND fling with nurse behind bars…as police arrest 4 girls who ‘helped him flee hospital’
A manhunt has been launched for a Romeo criminal who had phone sex with a female prison guard and a fling with a nurse, as four women are suspected of helping him flee after a fresh arrest.
Officers are looking for Harri Pullen, 27, after he went on the run from a hospital.
It is the latest escape for Pullin, who had previously romanced two prison staff while behind bars.
He had an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with prison nurse Elyse-May Hibbs, 27, and also repeatedly phoned prison officer Ruth Shmylo, 26, to tell her he loved her in a series of calls from his cell.
Pullen was released from jail after serving his time but is now wanted by police over drug dealing.
Police have also arrested four women for allegedly helping him escape Grange University Hospital, Cwmbran, Wales.
He was last seen on March 26 around 3.45pm outside the hospital, where after he left the car park he was picked up by someone in a black Vauxhall Insignia.
Officers are looking for Harri Pullen, 27, after being released from behind bars where he struck up his romances
Pullen had an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with prison nurse Elyse-May Hibbs, 27, pictured
He also also repeatedly phoned prison officer Ruth Shmylo, 26, pictured, to tell he loved her in a series of calls from his cell
A police spokesperson said: ‘Four women, aged 28, 31 41, and 58, were later arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
‘The 58-year-old woman has since been released on police bail while the other three remain in police custody at this time.
‘Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact us quoting log reference 2500095727.’
Ms Shmylo was accused of having a five-month inappropriate relationship with Pullen – and calls between them were recorded by prison bosses.
But she claimed she was ‘terrified’ of the manipulative lag and took his calls to appease him after he threatened her family. She was cleared by a jury following a nine-day trial in December 2023.
Ms Shmylo, described by her barrister as ‘very pretty’, told the court Pullen ‘fixated’ on her and forced her to take his calls.
She was sacked from her job at HMP Parc in Bridgend, and Pullen was moved to another prison.
He was moved to HMP Manchester – also known as Strangeways – where he added Ms Shmylo to his approved calls list but their conversations were recorded by officials.
The calls, played to the court, included Pullen repeatedly telling her: ‘I love you.’
Complaints about her included ‘flirtatious’ behaviour with inmates and wearing ‘skin-tight trousers’ to work, the court was told.
Pullen was released from jail after serving his time but is now wanted by police over drug dealing
Ms Shmylo, pictured, described by her barrister as ‘very pretty’, told the court Pullen ‘fixated’ on her and forced her to take his calls
She was sacked from her job at HMP Parc in Bridgend, and Pullen was moved to another prison
She had previously made corruption reports of her own against other staff who were colluding with inmates to tamper with prisoners’ food.
She told police that when she rejected Pullen, he threatened her brother-in-law, who worked in another part of the prison.
She said: ‘He made multiple threats to me since then. He said he knew my address, he would get my car blown up and that he would have my cats killed.’
She said she took the calls to ‘pacify’ him and told police she made multiple attempts to end their contact.
Claire Wilks, defending, said Ms Shmylo should have been treated as a whistleblower but was instead ‘hung out to dry’ by prison bosses and called ‘a grass’ by her colleagues and assaulted.
Ms Wilks said it was no surprise that, given her previous treatment at the jail, she wouldn’t report phone calls with Pullen because she feared the consequences.
Ms Shmylo, of Pontypridd was cleared of one charge of misconduct in a public office.
But Pullen also had another romance with Elyse-May Hibbs, while he was serving time for being part of a drugs gang.
Hibbs met the prisoner while giving him medical treatment in her jail, and he contacted her on Instagram.
Jail chiefs suspected the inmate was involved in an inappropriate relationship at the prison so they transferred him to HMP Manchester.
But investigators then found Hibbs’s phone number on his approved calls list for inmates.
Matthew Cobbe, for prosecution, said: ‘Having been moved the inmate’s calls were monitored in HMP Manchester and it was quite plain the relationship with this defendant had was being nurtured by the inmate.
‘He contacted the defendant very many times and the bulk of it occurred when she was employed at HMP Parc.’
Mr Cobbe said the inmate used his mother and a friend to initiate contact with Hibbs after he searched for her on Instagram.
He said: ‘The calls between them were flirtatious. They talk about the prison, the staff within the prison, he tells her that he loves her and she tells him he doesn’t know her to love her.
Hibbs, pictured, met the prisoner while giving him medical treatment in her jail, and he contacted her on Instagram
Elyse-May Hibbs, 25, was jailed for six months after admitting misconduct in a public office
‘He tells her that he loves her, and she tells him that she loves him too. The calls included references to the defendant’s existing partner and the inmate continuously suggested he would replace him and be in a relationship with her.’
Cardiff Crown Court heard the two swapped messages on Instagram by contacting each other through an account held by the inmate’s friend.
But Hibbs claimed she was ‘pressurised’ into flirting with him.
Despite this, she was jailed for six months and after being released the Nursing and Midwifery Council suspended her from nursing for 12 months.
