Prison officer had sex with inmate in jail cell

Emily Watson, 26, jailed 12 months after engaging in sexual relationship with prisoner John McGee, 31

A prison officer has been jailed for 12 months after having sex with an inmate who was serving an eight-year term for a hit-and-run crash.

Emily Watson, from Huddersfield, engaged in a sexual relationship with John McGee while she was employed at HMP Berwyn in Wrexham, North Wales.

The 26-year-old was sentenced at Mold Crown Court on Friday after she pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office.

The court heard Watson went to McGee's cell alone on three occasions and they had sex once.

Mr McGee, 30, was also imprisoned for 12 months after he admitted possession of a phone and a charger in prison in connection with the investigation by the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (NWROCU).

The sentence will run consecutively to the eight years he received in 2016 over the death of charity worker Richard Bratin, 51, as he walked his dog in Walton, Liverpool.

During the trial, Judge Nicolas Parry said “everything about this case is so, so wrong”, according to BBC News.

Following sentencing, Detective Inspector Dawn Hampson, from NWROCU, said: “Working alongside Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), we are absolutely committed to identifying and bringing to justice those who we suspect are involved in corruption within the prison service, including inappropriate relationships, bringing items into prisons and other misconduct matters.

”We know the vast majority of prison officers are dedicated professionals who carry out their duties with integrity. But today's sentence is another positive step in tackling prison corruption in the North West and we will continue our efforts to bring offenders to justice."

Ms Watson was sacked from her job after the incident came to light.

It comes amid mounting concerns about the state of prisons, with, self-harm and violent assaults having hit a record high for the seventh year in a row despite an overall drop in inmate numbers.

There has been a 140 per cent rise in self-harm and a 136 per cent rise in assaults across jails in England and Wales since 2012, while the prison population has reduced by 3 per cent over the same period.