Sex scandals behind bars are being ‘swept under the carpet’ to avoid public embarrassment, according to an ex-prison officer.
Earlier this week, Linda De Sousa Abreu was charged with misconduct in public office after a video went viral of what appeared to be an inmate from HMP Wandsworth bonking an on-duty prison officer while a second inmate films. De Sousa Abreu, from Fulham in west London, attended Uxbridge Magistrate’s Court on July 1 but only spoke to confirm her name, address and date of birth.
The 30-year-old was released on conditional bail and is due to appear at Isleworth Crown Court on July 29.
But over the last three years to March 2023, 31 female prison staff working in male prisons were fired due to breaking the rules on relationships with inmates.
(Image: Getty Images)
“These events are swept under the carpet, if a sexual relationship ever comes to light, then normally the prison officer is given the chance to resign,” an anonymous former prison officer told Mail Online. “They don’t like this stuff to come out, it’s hugely embarrassing.”
Vanessa Frake spent almost three decades working in jails, including category B men’s prison Wormwood Scrubs. “I think this has always happened in one form or another,” she said. “But when you see the number of reported cases at somewhere like HMP Berwyn, you have to ask how that has happened.”
HMP Berwyn, a category C adult male prison in Wales, reportedly saw 18 female staff members be sacked or resigned due to inappropriate relations last year. Probation officer Ayshea Gunn embarked on a relationship with armed robber Khuram Razaq, and exchanged ‘highly sexualised and pornographic’ photos to eachother.
WalesOnline reports the 27-year-old once smuggled a pair of knickers into prison for her jailed lover, and when police searched her home – photos of the pair kissing were found. Jennifer Gavan was also jailed for eight months after her relationship with Alex Coxon was outed. According to reports, the 27-year-old had ‘self-esteem issues’ and was ‘manipulated’ into thinking she was in a relationship with the felon. The pair exchanged photographs on WhatsApp, and she accepted £150 to smuggle a phone into the prison for him.
Emily Watson, 27, was also jailed for one year in 2019 after performing a sex act on an inmate in his cell. Prison staff became suspicious of the officer spending so much time with John McGee that they launched an investigation into their relationship. Mold Crown Court heard they had been alone together in his cell on three occasions, when she performed a sex act on him twice and had sex once, per the BBC.
Last year, it was revealed staff at HMP Berwyn will receive anti-corruption training following the string of female guards jailed for having flings with inmates.
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