Probation officer had sex affair with client
MARRIED WOMAN IS JAILED FOR ABUSE OF HER POSITION
A PROBATION officer from Nottinghamshire has been jailed after having a sexual relationship with a “high risk” criminal she was monitoring.
Victoria Sellar, 30, of Trevone Avenue, Stapleford, pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office between February 5, 2018, and June 20, 2018.
Now Sellar has been jailed for 10 months at Stoke-on-trent Crown Court.
The 30-year-old abused her position by forming the sexual relationship with the man following his release from Harplands Hospital.
The couple sent more than 6,000 texts to each other during their fourmonth relationship and spent a weekend away in Blackpool where he became involved in a fight.
But the defendant failed to report the incident as a breach of his licence conditions, Stoke on Trent Live reports.
And she accessed the probation service’s computer system to find details of another offender who had allegedly assaulted him.
The defendant had joined the probation service at the age of 18 before landing her dream job as a probation officer in early 2018.
But between February 5 and June 20 of that year, she engaged in an “inappropriate and sexual relationship” with the vulnerable offender she managed.
The relationship came to light when the man – who cannot be named for legal reasons – was arrested on suspicion of aggravated burglary in July 2018 and his phone was seized.
Prosecutor Daniel Osborne said: “Personal communications were found between the man and the defendant.
“More than 6,000 texts were sent between the two between February and June 2018. They showed a personal and sexual relationship between the two. A number of messages and pictures were indecent. They had an ongoing sexual relationship.
“The man was vulnerable. She played a big part in getting him assessed and sectioned. They met up and had sex for the first time immediately after his discharge from Harplands Hospital.
“She had managed someone who had previously assaulted him and took a screenshot of his profile and sent it to him.
“She and the man went to Blackpool together. He got drunk and got in a fight. No caution was made against him. But at the time he was under probation due to his previous history of violence.
“He was living with a girl with a young child. He was, and still is, a high-risk offender. She told him to make sure probation did not find out.
“She failed to act and neglected her duties as a probation officer and encouraged him to lie and mislead his own probation supervisor.”
Mr Osborne added: “The defendant admitted having a relationship with the man and having sex with him on about three separate occasions.
“She admitted accessing systems relating to the man on 18 occasions.
“She admitted sending a naked photograph of herself to him and researching another offender who had beaten him up.”
Darron Whitehead, mitigating, read out a letter the defendant wrote to the court.
It stated: “I come here today to face the consequences of my actions, actions that were selfish, reckless and unprofessional.
“I have lost a career I worked so hard for and have no chance of ever rebuilding.
“Aside from this, the consequence I find the hardest to cope with is the embarrassment I have brought upon my family. They are so deeply ashamed by my behaviour. I can only hope they can begin to forgive me. I deeply regret my behaviour.”
Mr Whitehead said the defendant’s husband had a gambling addiction and the household debt was close to £50,000.
He said: “She could not get him to look in the mirror at what was going on and how it was impacting on her.
Sadly she failed to look in the mirror herself because she would have realised her decision making was being affected also.
“She offers none of this as an excuse for what she has done but her personal life trespassed into her professional life. She crossed the professional line.”
The defendant has since divorced and landed a job with a housing association. Mr Whitehead added: “She was respected and others felt she worked hard and well. She was committed and dedicated. “Those who knew her were surprised she let her guard down and betrayed the morals she believed so strongly in. “She has made an error of judgement and was driven by her heart, rather than her head.
“To incarcerate her has no benefit at all in terms of rehabilitation. To lock her in a cell for 23 hours a day, other than sending a message, has no other real effect.” But Judge David Fletcher told Sellar a ‘deterrent message’ had to be sent out. and added: “The public has to have absolute and complete confidence in a system which deals in part with people who have been involved in the criminal justice system.”
I have lost a career I worked so hard for and have no chance of ever rebuilding
Victoria Sellar