Prison romeo who had telephone intercourse with guard and fling with nurse is on the run as police arrest 4 girls who ‘helped him flee hospital’

A manhunt has been launched for a loverboy criminal who had phone sex with a glamorous prison guard and a fling with a nurse, as four women are suspected of helping him flee.

Officers are looking for Harri Pullen, 27, after being released from behind bars where he struck up his romances.

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 cells.

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 manipulative Pullen and took his calls to appease him after he threatened her family and was cleared by a jury following a nine-day trial in December 2023.

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 par,k he was picked up by someone in a black Vauxhall Insignia.

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.’

Glamorous officer 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 after officials at the G4S-run jail over their alleged affair.

Pullen was moved to HMP Manchester – also known as Strangeways – where he added 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 heard.

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 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 as she feared the consequences.

Shmylo, of Treforest, Pontypridd was cleared of one charge of misconduct in a public office.

But the romantic criminal 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’ 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.

‘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 she was taken to a disciplinary hearing by the Nursing Midwifery Council to decide if she was fit to carrying on her career.

The hearing found that her ‘fitness to practise’ was impaired by her conviction, and she was handed a 12 months suspension order.

This means that she may practice nursing again once the 12-month order is lifted to carry on her career.

Recorder of Cardiff Tracey Lloyd-Clarke, told Hibbs: ‘You knew what you were doing was wrong, you had training but nevertheless you went ahead and formed what was clearly an emotional relationship with this prisoner.

‘Although you were young, you held a position of responsibility as a nurse and as a member of prison staff. You failed to report initial contact despite advice from a colleague and training you had had.

‘You engaged in a flirtatious relationship initially, you failed to report the on-going contact and you failed to report that this inmate had upon him and in custody an unlawful device.’