Female prison officer who shared ‘intimate sexual chat’ and explicit images with three inmates is jailed for 18 months

A prison officer who shared an “intimate sexual conversation” and explicit images with three prisoners she had relationships with is now behind bars herself.

Sarah Jaynes Williams, 38, from Widnes, Cheshire, was working at HMP Altcourse in Liverpool when she “fell into the traps and arms of sophisticated criminals”, her lawyers said.

Liverpool Crown Court heard the prison worker knew prisoners had mobile phones but chose to start exchanging messages and explicit images with them rather than inform her bosses about the illegal devices.

The court heard they included “sexual messages, chat and images, intimate sexual chat”. However, Williams did not engage in any physical sexual contact with the people she was supposed to be protecting.

The court heard that after completing her training, which included training in “prevention of corruption”, she was placed in the Channel wing of the Alternative Course.

The Category B prison, run by Sodexo, houses offenders serving medium to long sentences and prisoners with poor behavior.

Her misconduct came to light when Altcourse management received a report of her misconduct.

The case was then transferred to the anti-corruption unit of the North West Regional Organized Crime Directorate after phones seized from inmates revealed illicit messages.

Williams was then arrested at home in July 2020 and on Thursday she was jailed for 18 months after pleading guilty to three counts of misconduct in public office and one count of intent to secure unauthorized access to data .

Two of the prisoners she corresponded with pleaded guilty to possessing mobile phones in prison and received long prison sentences.

Connor Crawford, who is currently serving a sentence for possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, pleaded guilty to possessing a mobile phone in prison and was jailed on June 8 at Liverpool Crown Court for a further six months.

Craig Stinson, who is serving a sentence for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, also pleaded guilty to possessing a mobile phone in prison and was also jailed on June 8 at Liverpool Crown Court for a further six months.

A third prisoner will appear in court next year.

The mum-of-three also told one of the criminals that her colleagues suspected another prisoner of having prohibited items in his cell and she illegally searched the prison database to find out which prison the other man was being held in.

Jailing her for 18 months on Thursday, Judge Watson said that, “reading between the lines” in the reports prepared about her, she came across as “an approval-seeking person”.

The judge continues: “When you began this work, you sought approval not from colleagues and colleagues, but from prisoners.

“By doing this, you jeopardized your position and that of everyone else in terms of security on the wing and allowed three prisoners with significant links to organized crime to have virtually unlimited contact with their criminal associates.”

Judge Watson said Williams, also known by her maiden name Moore, knew the inmates had four mobile phones.

A search of the house revealed details of gang members, some of whom were rivals of the prisoners. She transferred money to one of them after he was transferred to Manchester prison.

He said a request by one of them to obtain information from a database about the whereabouts of another member of an organized crime group, whether an associate or a rival, was “unfavorable.”

Matthew O’Neill, defending, said Williams had succumbed to the “charms of these prisoners”, adding she may have a personality disorder “which may have interfered with her decision-making”.

He added: “(She was placed on a wing) with sophisticated, dangerous criminals and at a time when her mental health was suffering. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.”

Detective Chief Inspector Chris McClellan, from the North West Regional Organized Crime Unit, said: “Relationships between prison staff and prisoners are highly disruptive and destabilizing to the prison regime.

“Sarah Williams became romantically involved with these prisoners shortly after joining the prison service.

“Even though she had completed her initial training, which included anti-corruption measures, she continually broke the law by engaging in numerous relationships with inmates, bringing cell phones into the prison, and sharing with those inmates confidential information that she had illegally obtained from prison information systems.

“The vast majority of prison staff carry out their duties to the highest standard, however the minority who do behave inappropriately will be investigated and appropriate action taken.

“We want to encourage prison staff to look out for any warning signs and report any inappropriate behavior so we can take action and hold them to account.”

She was jailed after a former prison officer at a category B prison in Wales was acquitted of misconduct in public office after she was allegedly forced into having phone sex with a prisoner who threatened her.

“Very beautiful” Ruth Shmilo, 26, said Harry Pullen was “fixated” on her and that she took part in the calls – from which she said she received no satisfaction – to “pacify” him.

Pullen continued to communicate with her after he was transferred to another prison following the discovery of the case, which resulted in Ms. Shmylo failing her probation and losing her job.

It was later revealed that he had also begun an affair with another prison staff member, nurse Elise May Hibbs, using a mobile phone hidden on his person.

In 2022, Hibbs was jailed for six months and then suspended from practicing medicine after admitting misconduct in public office and failing to report the illegal arrangement to her superiors.