Prison officer jailed for relationship with inmate

Adam Higgs and Katie Loxton spent hours on the phone with each other

A prison officer has been jailed after starting an intimate relationship with an inmate.

Katie Loxton, 27, from Sandwell, was working at HMP Oakwood, Staffordshire, when she met Adam Higgs.

Loxton would spend a large portion of her time on the block where Higgs was incarcerated and the pair communicated to each other through a fake contact in a phone Higgs had in his cell.

The pair were sentenced on Thursday at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

Loxton was jailed for 12 months for misconduct in a public office and an offence relating to electronic messaging within the site.

She had admitted her offences, as had Higgs who was given an eight-month sentence for possession of the phone in a prison and its usage.

He was already serving a 14-year sentence for being part of a drugs gang that supplied heroin and cocaine.

Staffordshire Police said prison staff had raised concerns to Loxton about her time spent on Higgs's block, but said she denied any wrongdoing.

Between 7 July 2021 and 13 January 2022, Higgs made a total of 3,451 calls to Loxton. He spoke with her for more than 380 hours, at a cost of £798.

During the calls, the pair would often perform sexual acts to each other, police said.

They also communicated over social media.

'Manipulate security'

In January 2022, police found three handwritten letters from Higgs at Loxton's home.

Det Con Adam McHugh said: "Loxton and Higgs were able to manipulate the security measures of the prison telephony system to hide their relationship from officers and inmates.

"I'm happy that Loxton recognised her conduct had fallen short of the expected standard."