A female prison officer sent more than 4,300 racy messages to an inmate after striking up a relationship with him at one of Britain's new super-jails, a court heard.
Toni Cole, 29, was jailed for 12 months after engaging in "contact which was sexualised or flirtatious" at HMP Five Wells in Northamptonshire.
A court heard the prison officer sent 4,369 messages to the prisoner and took part in 18 video calls – and also kissed the criminal, sat on his lap and told him she would give advanced warning of any cell searches at the Category C prison.
The relationship took place between December 9, 2022 and January 25, 2023 before prison authorities found out about it. Cole pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office at Northampton Crown Court. She was jailed for a year by Judge David Herbert KC and ordered to pay a surcharge of £187 (USD$ 235) last Thursday.
Cole is the second female officer convicted of misconduct in public office at the Wellingborough jail. Last summer, trainee officer Rachel Stanton, 31, was given a suspended jail term. Cole's relationship with jailed armed robber Edwin Poole was uncovered when prison staff found three intimate photographs and a love letter in his cell.
Surveillance cameras also caught the pair sneaking into a prison storeroom for an hour of "intimacy." Stanton was suspended after their relationship was discovered in July 2022, while Pool was moved to another prison. She continued to visit her inmate lover and they went on to have a baby together, but have since split up.
Stanton admitted wilful misconduct in public office at Northampton Crown Court. She was sentenced last July to nine months in prison suspended for 18 months and ordered to take part in 20 days rehabilitation activity.
