A former prison officer has admitted misconduct in public office after acknowledging a "romantic relationship" with a convicted inmate and the supply of contraband items into a Category C prison.
Charlotte Winstanley, 27, of Stainforth, South Yorkshire, pleaded guilty at Sheffield Crown Court to having an improper relationship with prisoner Jabhari Blair, 29, and to bringing a mobile phone into HMP Lindholme. The offences took place between August and November 2022, the court heard. Sentencing was scheduled for December 3.
Prosecutors said Winstanley smuggled in contraband during the roughly three-and-a-half-month relationship, including a mobile phone and SD cards. She also admitted sending a photograph from inside the prison in April 2023 and conspiring with an inmate in October 2022 to pass SD cards into the establishment. Winstanley arrived at the hearing carrying a prison bag and was granted bail until the December sentencing date.
Blair, who joined the hearing by video link from Lowdham Grange prison near Nottingham, admitted possessing cannabis, a mobile phone and a USB stick. He was told his sentence would be passed on December 3, which the court heard would be his 30th birthday; Blair responded, "Thanks for the birthday present." Judge Megan Rhys told both that they had pleaded guilty to acceptable counts on the indictment and that sentence would follow.
Blair was jailed for more than 12 years in 2014 for his part in a violent mass brawl in Bradford, West Yorkshire, when he was 18. Court records describe the 2014 violence as "disgusting and sickening" public disorder. At the time of the more recent offences he was serving a sentence at a Category C prison and had been nearing a parole hearing that could have led to release.
Winstanley's barrister, Khadim Al-Hassan, told the court she had admitted the offences on the "full facts" and had not sought to minimise her role. He said she had made a "full and frank disclosure." Winstanley acknowledged the allegations and entered guilty pleas to the counts brought against her. The offence of misconduct in public office carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in custody.
The case comes amid growing scrutiny of staff-prisoner relationships in England and Wales. Ministry of Justice statistics and court reports show a rise in disciplinary action against female prison officers for forming inappropriate relationships with prisoners in recent years. At least 30 female officers were dismissed for such conduct in the three years before the hearing, compared with nine dismissals for the same offence between 2017 and 2019, according to court references.
Recent, similar prosecutions include the case of Morgan Farr Varney, 24, who was jailed in May after forming an illicit relationship with a prisoner at HMP Lindholme. During that matter Varney was recorded entering a storage cupboard with an inmate and later told police she had fallen in love and had compromised her career. The prisoner in that case received additional jail time after being found with an illicit mobile phone used to communicate with the staff member.
At Thursday's hearing, the court recorded the pleas and set the matter for sentence. Winstanley was reminded by the judge to attend court on December 3 or risk arrest if she failed to return for sentencing. Blair will be sentenced at the same sitting while remaining in custody at Lowdham Grange.