Inmate's record appears on Facebook, court hears
A complaint was made after details of an inmate's criminal record appeared on social media (stock image)
- Published
A prison officer who took a photo of an inmate's criminal record was reported when it ended up on Facebook, a court heard.
Sarah Spencer, 54, admitted a charge of misconduct in public office while working at North Sea Camp, an open prison in Freiston, near Boston, in Lincolnshire.
Lincoln Crown Court heard Spencer neglected her duty as an officer by accessing the prison record of an inmate at HMP Lincoln on 6 August 2023.
Spencer, of Buckingham Drive, Chapel St Leonards, was sentenced to four months' imprisonment suspended for 12 months.
Passing sentence, Recorder Rupert Jones said there "was an abuse of a position of trust".
He added: "You had regular training and were aware of the sensitivity of the information in your role."
Recorder Jones told Spencer her conduct was not for financial gain and appeared to be misguided by the relationship with her son.
The inmate was serving at HMP Lincoln at the time of the privacy breach
Tom Heath, prosecuting, said Spencer used her mobile phone to take a screenshot of the inmate's criminal record, before sending it to her son.
Spencer was prohibited to have the device while on duty, the court heard.
The court was told Spencer expected her son to delete the content, but he instead passed it to a friend who then shared it on Facebook.
It was later seen by the inmate's family who made a complaint to the prison authorities.
Mr Heath said Spencer was an experienced prison officer with eight years' service and had received regular IT and anti-corruption training.
"She appeared to have plenty of training," Mr Heath explained. "She was an experienced officer and knew it was wrong."
'Felt pressured'
Leanne Summers, mitigating, said Spencer had been extremely reluctant to act on her son's request.
"She felt pressured to do it and expected her son to delete the information," Miss Summers explained, adding: "She did not expect it to be shared."
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