Prison officer is accused of having helped inmate escape from open jail

A FEMALE prison officer is accused of helping an inmate she is claimed to have been in a relationship with escape from a Derbyshire prison.

Erica Whittingham faced the two charges relating to the alleged offences when she appeared at Derby Crown Court.

The prosecution claimed she formed a relationship with convicted robber Michael Seddon while she was working at HMP Sudbury where he was serving his sentence. Sudbury is an open prison.

They then claim the 33-year-old helped him escape and assisted him while he was on the run for almost six months.

Whittingham, of Leigh Lane, Bramshall, Uttoxeter, denies the charges.

Recorder Adrian Reynolds adjourned the case for a trial.

Whittingham faces two charges. The first is helping Seddon to escape from HMP Sudbury on October 1, 2019, and harbouring him until March 18, 2020, in Lincolnshire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Oxford.

The second is willful misconduct in a judicial position in that as a prison officer at HMP Sudbury she had a relationship with Seddon between January 8, 2017, and October 3, 2019.

The defendant pleaded not guilty when she appeared in person at Derby Crown Court.

Recorder Reynolds asked her barrister, Mark Sharman, what her defence to the charges is.

He replied: “Both ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) and phone evidence is disputed.”

Recorder Reynolds set the trial date to the week commencing July 25, 2022, and handed Whittingham unconditional bail.

Derbyshire Police said Seddon had been convicted of robbery at Bournemouth Crown Court in November 2011, reports Derbyshirelive.