Prison officer jailed after being caught in cell with inmate on CCTV as graphic details revealed in court
A prison officer has been jailed for two-and-half years after being caught having an intimate relationship with an inmate.
Sheffield Crown Court found that Charlotte Winstanley, now 27, had embarked on a 'substantial' sexual relationship with Jabhari Blair, 30, not long after she started working at HMP Lindholme.
The pair were seen together on CCTV cameras during intimate moments, with the recordings showing the pair touching and disappearing into rooms together.
Winstanley had also smuggled in a range of contraband for the jailed gang member, who was serving a 12-and-a-half-year sentence for violence in 2014.
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This included a mobile phone, which Blair and Winstanley had used to send explicit photos and videos to each other as well as graphic sexual messages, which Prosecutor Aaron Dinnes said was evidence that the pair's relationship had been intimate.
Messages between Winstanley and Blair were read out in court, including texts which revealed that Mondays had been the pair's 'date nights' and included one from the prison officer which read: "I love my job, but I love you more."
Multiple messages also indicated the pair's willingness to have a child together, with Winstanley telling Blair at one point: "I’m literally praying to have your babies."
"Life starts now, baby. Every sacrifice I make I do so I can be with you," read a different message from Winstanley.
Another text from Blair also indicated that he 'can’t wait to give Miss Winstanley a beautiful baby'.
The prosecutor also explained that Winstanley had acted as a 'link to outside' for Blair, even going to visit his mother in Leeds. She had passed along information about prisoner movements, including other inmates’ health care and a search of his own cell.
This, Prosecutor Dinnes added, was extremely serious due to Blair's links to an organised crime group.
"This is arguably the worst case of its kind I have personally dealt with," the judge told Winstanley and Blair on 30 January.
After being suspended from her role, Winstanley then signed up as a visitor at the prison, which Blair had been moved to and undertook online meetings with him.
Their relationship lasted for around three years in total.
Defending Winstanley, Khadim Al’Hassan told the court that she'd only had one previous boyfriend at the age of 15 and had been 22 years old when she began work at HMP Lindholme.
He told the court Winstanley was 'deeply remorseful' but 'wasn’t really equipped with the skills and tools somebody would expect somebody in that position to have'.
The judge has since handed Winstanley a two-and-a-half-year sentence for misconduct in public office and transmitting a photograph from inside a prison, while Blair was handed an additional 13 months for possessing cannabis, a prohibited phone and a USB stick.
Brenna Cooper