Three female guards working at a Welsh prison that houses male inmates have been jailed for having intimate relationships with inmates.
Jennifer Gavan, 27, Ayshea Gunn, 27, and Emily Watson, 26, have all been jailed after starting affairs with prisoners at HMP Berwyn in Wrexham, north Wales, The Daily Mail and Birmingham Mail reported.
HMP Berwyn houses Category C adult male offenders who are deemed unlikely to try to escape, but cannot be trusted in open conditions. The incidents occurred over the last three years.
The prison allows prisoners to have phones in their rooms and they are able to make calls at any time by purchasing credits. The phones do not accept incoming calls. They are allowed to phone anyone named on their list of friends and family, which is checked by security when they first arrive.
Gavan Jailed Last Month for 'Kissing' Inmate, Sending Photos to Him
Gavan was jailed for eight months in December 2022 for having an appropriate relationship with an inmate and sending him explicit images, as previously reported.
Gavan was accused of entering into an inappropriate relationship with prisoner Alex Coxon, now 25, accepting £150 ($180) to bring a mobile phone into the jail, and communicating with him via a phone held illegally. She was also accused of kissing Coxon and sending him photos of herself via Snapchat.
Gunn Jailed in 2019 For Kissing Inmate, Engaging in Phone Sex
Fellow officer Gunn, 27, was jailed for one year in 2019 over a fling with "dangerous" inmate Khuram Razaq, 29. The criminology and psychology graduate made numerous sexual phone calls to Razaq while he was serving a 12-year sentence for conspiracy to rob.
A search of Gunn's bedroom revealed photos of the pair kissing and hugging. The pictures were taken in Razaq's cell. Gunn also smuggled in a pair of knickers for the prisoner.She hid the undergarment inside her bra, the court heard.
Watson Jailed in 2019 for Performing Sex Act on Inmate
The third prison officer, Watson, 26, was jailed for one year at the same court in April 2019. She had performed a sex act on an inmate, John McGee, in his cell on Christmas Day.
Watson spent so much time with that prisoner that staff took notice, became suspicious and launched an investigation. Mold Crown Court heard they had been alone together in his cell on three separate occasions. She performed a sex act on him twice and had intercourse once.
The sentences meted out to the female guards have prompted extra corruption prevention training for more than 500 members of staff at the prison in the last 18 months.
