Prison guard who had affair with inmate avoids jail

A female prison officer who romped with an inmate she was supposed to be guarding has narrowly escaped jail. Megan Breen, 23, walked free despite striking up an illicit relationship behind bars with a convicted drug dealer. The woman travelled 175 miles to the Merseyside area to meet the prisoner while he was on home leave and even stayed in a hotel with him for a night of passion to celebrate her 20th birthday.

Cardiff Crown Court heard that Breen was working as an operational support grade worker at HMP Prescoed, a category D open prison, in Gwent. She met the unnamed inmate while working night shifts and arranged to meet him while he was on home leave in the Merseyside area, preparing for release. He had been jailed in October 2020 for four years and four months for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and in May 2021 was transferred to Breen’s prison.

At the time, Breen was also working at HMP Usk, a category C jail also in Gwent, which is a closed prison for adult male vulnerable inmates, who include sex offenders and convicted police officers.

The court heard Breen texted the inmate on a prison-issue mobile Nokia phone that he had been given while on home leave and day release, and also socialised with his family while on trips to Liverpool.

She was employed at the prison from June 2021 and during her induction training was warned of the dangers of forming inappropriate relationships with prisoners.

But in March 2022, Breen was arrested after she confessed the fling to colleague William Morgan whilst pulling up a picture of a male prisoner on a computer screen. He told prison superiors.

Thomas Stanway, prosecuting, told the court: “His reaction was disbelief and she confirmed she had met the prisoner while he was on home release and they went back to her hotel together.

“She also disclosed she had met his family and they liked her, and she liked them.”

Breen told him she had met the prisoner in Merseyside as part of an overnight trip to celebrate her 20th birthday.

The prisoner met Breen and two of her colleagues from the prison, who did not recognise him, for drinks, before they went to her hotel room together.

The prisoner’s cell was later searched and a piece of paper with Breen’s mobile phone number and Snapchat handle was recovered.

Searches of Breen’s mobile phone found messages and calls between her and the prisoner.

Mr Stansway said: “The messages show a clear relationship between the defendant and the male prisoner.

“The defendant and the male prisoner said they loved each other and used other terms of affection and heart emojis.”

Scott Bowen, defending, said Breen was a single mother of a young son, acts as a carer for another child, and had recently discovered she is pregnant.

“This is a matter that will haunt her,” he said.

“She made it clear it was the most difficult morning of her life, saying goodbye to her son, and knowing she may not see him for the foreseeable.”

Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke, the Recorder of Cardiff, said Breen showed “remorse” for her actions and said she did not pose a danger to the public.

She said Breen’s pregnancy and childcare responsibilities were significant factors in deciding to suspend her sentence.

She said: “I am satisfied that your culpability was high and you knew what you were doing was wrong.

“During the trip to Liverpool you put your two colleagues in a very difficult position in introducing them to a prisoner they didn’t know themselves but in a position of contact with a prisoner in a social setting.

“It is clear that immediate custody would result in harm on others, namely your son, your unborn child and the child you care for.

“I am satisfied that your pregnancy, the needs of your son, your unborn child and the child you care for means this is an exceptional case and the sentence should be suspended.”

Breen had initially appeared in court in January to deny the affair, but at a later hearing her barrister asked for the charge to be put again and she admitted misconduct in a public office.

Sentencing on Friday, the judge imposed a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, ordered her to pay £500 in prosecution costs, and carry out 15 days of rehabilitation.

A second charge of unauthorised computer access was ordered to lie on file.

HMP Usk houses 280 inmates and is managed jointly with HMP Prescoed, which is three miles away and houses offenders serving the final term of their sentences before being released.

Female prison officers have been allowed to work inside male establishments since the early 1980s. About 15,000 women are currently employed in jails in England and Wales.

Earlier this year, a report found that jails were forced to recruit officers from abroad as a result of staff shortages

Prison governors said many of their overseas staff have come from Nigeria and include not only skilled workers but also some switching from other visa routes. The Prison Officers Association (POA) has reported cases of overseas recruits turning up on their first day, assuming they would be given accommodation along with their job.

Ministry of Justice sources suggested in January that up to 250 foreign nationals have been sponsored to work in the prison service after passing through their Zoom interviews and vetting.

Prison governors believe there are significantly more applicants which include those switching from other visas. They claimed that in one month last year two-thirds of the 3,500 would-be recruits were from Africa.