PRISON OFFICER WHO SENT SAUCY PIC TO INMATE
WOMAN JAILED FOR SMUGGLING MOBILE PHONE AND SIM CARD INTO HMP FULL SUTTON
A GUARD has been jailed after smuggling a mobile phone and sim card into prison for an inmate she had struck up a relationship with.
Scarlett Aldrich, then 20, tattooed the inmate’s cell number on her leg and began a “flirty” relationship with an inmate known as Jones at HMP Full Sutton.
After concerns were made about their relationship in August 2019, officers also found love letters from Aldrich to the prisoner in his cell. They would later intercept a photograph sent to the inmate of a tattoo on her upper left thigh of his cell number.
Aldrich, now 22, was sentenced on Wednesday to ten months behind bars by Judge John Thackray QC, for misconduct in a judicial or public office and conveying a list B article (a mobile phone and sim card) into prison.
Judge John Thackray QC said he took into account her mental health issues that would have caused her to be vulnerable towards the prisoner’s demands.
“You allowed yourself to be taken in by him and you put the safety and security of the prison in jeopardy,” said Judge Thackray QC.
“This was a high-security prison - mobile telephones and sim cards can be used as a form of currency within a prison, providing power in disrupting the lives of those within the prison.
“You breached the trust that had been given to you and in a case like this, the deterrent function of sentencing plays a very prominent part.”
The judge said he accepted that Aldrich only provided the phone and sim card to the prisoner with the sole intention of using them only to communicate with her, and that there is no evidence he used the items to commit any other form of crime.
But despite this, he said there was a risk the prisoner could have used them in another way.
During the sentencing, Judge Thackray QC also said there were many mitigating factors in Aldrich’s case.
“You were only 20 years of age at the time you committed the offences,” he said.
“Secondly, because of your long history of mental health issues, I accept there was an element of vulnerability about you, which was exploited by the prisoner.
“Thirdly, you still have ongoing mental health difficulties, which means that a custodial sentence upon you will be more punishing.”
He also told the court he took into account Aldrich’s good character, with “many good deeds” performed by her in the past, she has made “substantial progress in her life” and the tough conditions inside prison during the pandemic, her low risk of reoffending and guilty plea.
Last week, Hull Crown Court heard it had been noticed that she would spend a lot of time chatting to him.
“It was noticed that the defendant would enter the workshop, greet other prison staff, before going to sit with Jones and chat with him for up to an hour at a time,” said prosecuting barrister Ayman Khokar at Hull Crown Court.
“These visits became more frequent and other prisoners commented on the closeness between the two.”
Aldrich’s time with Jones in the workshop got longer, roughly two hours each day while he was there.
A staff member noticed the two “being flirty” and confronted Aldrich about their behaviour.
“She was warned about what her behaviour looked like,” said Mr Khokar, “but the defendant returned to the workshop and chatted with the prisoner.”
On September 18, 2019, Aldrich was suspended from her role as a prison officer pending an investigation and she would later admit to governors that the relationship started following an argument with her then partner.
“She had a cut on her face,” said mitigating barrister Susanna Proctor. “He was providing comfort towards her.
“She explained she had been vulnerable due to her partner assaulting her which left a mark.
“Jones noticed the mark. He contacted her and made threats towards her partner.
“She admitted she brought in the mobile phone and sim card.
“She was then asked by the prisoner to hold onto £5,000 at her home which would be collected by a gentleman nicknamed Ginger Scouser.
“She became concerned and blocked the prisoner’s number.”
Ms Proctor revealed to the court that there was no sexual activity between the two and that Aldrich had no contact with Jones in his cell.
Aldrich, of Primrose Drive, Sowerby, applied to become a prison officer soon after she received her A-level results and wanted to help people and follow in similar paths to her mum and stepfather, who work as police officers.