A prison worker has been sentenced to 21 months in jail for improperly accessing the confidential records of some of Britain's most notorious criminals. Courtney Harrison, 27, while working at HMP Moorland in Doncaster, searched the personal files of inmates including serial killer Harold Shipman, child murderer Rose West, nurse turned infant killer Lucy Letby, and Damien Bendall, who killed two women and children.
Sheffield Crown Court heard that Harrison also accessed and passed on confidential information from the prison records of George Tunney, a serving cash machine raider. This information was subsequently found on a device in Tunney's cell. Judge Jeremy Richardson KC described Harrison's actions as a "grave breach of trust" and "comprehensively wrong."
While there was no evidence Harrison assisted Tunney's subsequent escape from the prison, the judge noted the seriousness of sharing inmate data. Harrison pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office and causing a computer to perform a function to secure unauthorized access. Her offenses occurred in 2022 and 2023. The judge cited Harrison's youth at the time, lack of prior convictions, and prospects for rehabilitation as mitigating factors, but emphasized the need for punishment and deterrence, leading to the immediate prison sentence.