HMP Altcourse: Prison officer jailed for relationships with inmates

Sarah Williams swapped thousands of texts and calls with three prisoners

A prison officer who had inappropriate relationships with three prisoners with links to serious organised crime gangs has been jailed.

Sarah Williams, who worked at Liverpool's HMP Altcourse, "fell into the traps and arms of sophisticated criminals", her lawyer said.

The 39-year-old, of Kingsway, Widnes, admitted three charges of misconduct in public office in 2020.

She was sentenced to 18 months in prison at Liverpool Crown Court.

Williams, who became a prison officer in 2019, also pleaded guilty to causing a computer to perform a function to secure unauthorised access to data or a programme.

The court heard she knew the three men all had mobile phones but instead of reporting this to her bosses, she swapped thousands of texts and calls with them.

This included "intimate sexual chat" and images, the court heard.

Sentencing her, Judge Denis Watson, KC, said: "It is not the case this actually led to physical sexual contact between you and any of the three men."

After finishing her training, Williams, also known by her maiden name of Moore, had been assigned to "canal" wing at HMP Altcourse which houses prisoners serving medium to long-term sentences and badly behaved inmates, the court heard.

Judge Watson told Williams: "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."

'Tip-off'

The judge said when Williams's 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.

Tom Challinor, prosecuting, told the court the inappropriate relationships were discovered during an investigation after the Prison Service's corruption unit received a tip-off.

Forensic examination of the inmates' phones showed more than 12,000 calls and texts with one prisoner, almost 9,500 with another and 1,200 with the third inmate.

Sarah Williams was placed in the "canal" wing at HMP Altcourse after her training

Williams's lawyer Matthew O'Neill said she was thought to have a personality disorder "which may have impaired her decision making".

She had a diagnosis of bipolar affective disorder, he said.

The court heard one of the three inmates is serving 12 years and 11 months for firearms offences, another had been on remand for a drugs plot and the third inmate also faced firearms offences.

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