A woman has claimed she was sexually harassed by a prison officer while in jail in for a multi million pound Dubai money laundering scheme.
Beatrice Auty, 28, who was sentenced to 42 months behind bars in 2023 served more than a year at HMP Bronzefield, the largest female prison in Europe, for her part in a £104 million money laundering scheme.
She claims she was sexually harassed by a prison officer as she served her sentence for money laundering.
She told the BBC: “He made me feel very uncomfortable. He commented on my appearance – a lot. He suggested he wanted to come to my cell. I feel if I had been up for it, he would have wanted sexual favours.”
(Image: Phil Harris)
She also alleged that other women had similar experiences with the same guard, who would “comment on their breasts” and “how he would want [oral sex] from them.”
This kind of behaviour happened regularly, she said, but rarely led to a “satisfactory outcome”.
Auty was convicted alongside Jo-Emma Larvin, 44, who dated Welsh boxing champion Joe Calzaghe for six years – the most high profile gang member to be convicted – and her partner Jonathan Johnson, 55.
She flew several times from Heathrow to Dubai with massive amounts of cash in her luggage – up to £500,000 each trip – vacuum-packed with coffee granules and air fresheners to avoid detection. She was paid £3,000 plus flights and hotels in Dubai for the service.
Having been released on licence she is speaking out about her experiences inside prison, including the booming drug trade that, according to the BBC report, is allegedly being facilitated by some guards.
She said: “The drugs would often be transported on the food trollies and then distributed at the other end on the house blocks. On one hand you have a prison service that’s meant to be rule-abiding and strict and uphold British values, and in reality you have corrupt officers.”
Her comments come after a record 165 prison staff were sacked for misconduct in the year to June 2024, as increase of 34 per cent on the previous year.
(Image: NCA / SWNS)
Last month, former prison officer Richard Goss was jailed for four years after admitting to smuggling drugs, needles, and mobile phones into HMP Buckley Hall in Rochdale.
Another former officer, Linda De Sousa Abreu, was filmed having sex with an inmate in HMP Wandsworth in London. In July she was convicted of misconduct in a public office after the video went viral on social media.
One prison officer who wished to remain anonymous believes that guards are not given sufficient training before entering a prison.
They said: “Some [prison officers] are so young and inexperienced they easily get caught up in organised crime, with gangs inside sometimes putting pressure on them to supply all sorts.
“There’s a power dynamic, and prison officers can feel like they can do what they want – like asking for sex. They can make life difficult for those inside, and they know that.’
Sodexo, the private company that runs HMP Bronzefield, said it cannot comment on individual cases, but said it “undertakes all appropriate investigations and take necessary actions as needed.”
Gavin Miller, Community Union’s National Officer for the Justice and Custodial Sector, said: “These allegations are something that Community does not take lightly, any allegation of harassment – sexual or otherwise – needs to be investigated fully and, if proven, appropriate action should always be implemented.
“As the recognised trade union for HMP Bronzefield Community are committed to engaging with Sodexo management to assist with investigations into the allegations at the jail and where necessary support measures being introduced to provide safety guarantees for everyone across the private justice sector.
“It is only right to expect that workers, inmates and visitors are provided with the appropriate protection when they engage with the justice sector, safety is at the forefront of our campaigning and always will be.”
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