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- Sarah Williams swapped messages to inmates with illicit mobiles behind bars
- The prison officer ‘fell into the arms of sophisticated criminals’, her lawyers said
- READ MORE: Corrupt police jailed for deleting details of speeding for friends
A prison officer who shared ‘intimate sexual chat’ and explicit images with three inmates she had relationships with is now herself behind bars.
Sarah Janes Williams, 38, of Widnes, Cheshire, was working at HMP Altcourse in Liverpool when she ‘fell into the traps and into the arms of sophisticated criminals’, her lawyers said.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that the jail worker knew the inmates had mobile phones — but opted to begin exchanging messages and explicit images with them, rather than reporting their illegal devices to her bosses.
The court heard that these included ‘sexual messages and chat and images, intimate sexual chat’. However, Williams did not engage in any physical sexual contact with the people she was meant to be guarding.
The court heard that after finishing her training — which included training on ‘corruption prevention’ — she had been placed in the ‘Canal’ wing of Altcourse.
Sarah Williams seen leaving court during her trial, prior to being jailed on Thursday
Williams ‘fell into the traps and fell into the arms of sophisticated criminals’, her lawyers said
Williams worked at HMP Altcourse, near Liverpool, when she began swapping illict messages with three inmates
The Sodexo-operated Category B prison houses criminals serving medium-to-long term sentences as well as badly behaved inmates.
Her misconduct came to light when bosses at Altcourse received a tip that she was involved in inappropriate conduct.
The matter was then escalated to the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit’s anti-corruption department after phones seized from inmates revealed the illicit communications.
Williams was then arrested at home in July 2020 and on Thursday she was jailed for 18 months after pleading guilty to three counts of misconduct in public office, and one count of intending to secure unauthorised access to data.
Two of the inmates she was messaging pleaded guilty to possessing mobile phones in prison and have been given extended jail sentences.
Connor Crawford, who is currently serving a sentence for possessing firearms with intent to endanger life, pleaded guilty to possession of a mobile phone in prison and was jailed on 8 June at Liverpool Crown Court for an additional six months.
Craig Steenson, who is serving a sentence for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs , also pleaded guilty to possession of a mobile phone in prison and was also jailed on 8 June at Liverpool Crown Court for an additional six months.
A third inmate is due in court next year.
The mum-of-three also told one of the criminals that another inmate was suspected by her colleagues of having illicit items in his cell, and she illegally searched the prison database for him to find out which prison another individual was being held.
Jailing her for 18 months on Thursday, Judge Watson said that ‘reading between the lines’ in reports prepared about her, she came across as ‘someone who seeks approval’.
The judge continues: ‘You sought approval having started this job, not from colleagues and fellow prison officers, but from inmates.
‘Having done so, you compromised your position and everyone else’s in terms of safety on the wing and you allowed three inmates with serious organised crime connections effectively unrestricted contact with their criminal associates.’
Judge Watson said that Williams, who is also known by her maiden name of Moore, knew that between them the prisoners had four mobile phones.
Wher home was searched details of gang members, some of them rivals to the inmates, were found. She had transferred money to one of them after he was transferred to a prison in Manchester.
He said that the request by one for information from the database about the whereabouts of another organised crime group member, whether an associate or rival, was ‘not benign’.
Williams was jailed for 18 months at Liverpool Crown Court (pictured) on Thursday after pleading guilty to four charges
Matthew O’Neill, defending, said Williams had fallen ‘for the charms of these prisoners’, adding that she may have a personality disorder ‘which may have impaired her decision making’.
He added: ‘(She was placed on a wing with) sophisticated dangerous criminals and at a time when suffering with her mental health. She had a diagnosis of bi-polar affective disorder.’
Detective Chief Inspector Chris McClellan from the North-West Regional Organised Crime Unit said: ‘Relationships between prison staff and inmates greatly undermine and destabilise the prison regime.
‘Sarah Williams became romantically involved with these prisoners just a short time after joining the prison service.
‘Despite completing her initial training which included corruption prevention inputs, she continuously broke the law by starting multiple relationships with inmates, taking mobiles phones into prison, and for passing sensitive information onto these inmates that she had unlawfully obtained from prison IT systems.
‘The overwhelming majority of prison staff carry out their duties to the highest standards, however the minority who do engage in inappropriate behaviour will be investigated and the appropriate action taken.
‘We want to urge prison staff to be aware of any warning signs and to report any type of inappropriate behaviour so that we can take action to bring them to justice.’
Her jailing comes after a former prison officer at a Category B prison in Wales was cleared of misconduct in public office after she was allegedly coerced into phone sex with an inmate who threatened her.
‘Very pretty’ Ruth Shmylo, 26, said Harri Pullen had become ‘fixated’ on her and that she engaged in the calls — which she said she did not gain any gratification from — in order to ‘pacify’ him.
Pullen continued communicating with her after he was moved to another jail following the exposure of the affair — which saw Ms Shmylo fail her probation and lose her job.
It has since emerged that he also embarked on an affair with another member of prison staff, nurse Elyse Mae Hibbs, using a mobile phone hidden on his person.
Hibbs was jailed for six months in 2022 and later suspended from nursing practice after admitting misconduct in public office, having failed to report the illicit device to her bosses.