A prison officer from Holbeach who had a relationship with a murder convict has been jailed.
Rebecca Green, 29, was working at HMP Whitemoor, in March, Cambridgeshire, when she entered a relationship with John Otugade, who is serving a 25-year sentence for murder, in October 2022.
Cambridgeshire Police say that in the spring of 2023, Green was called into a meeting when suspicions were raised about her conduct.
She initially dismissed the claims, but Otugade was moved to HMP Belmarsh while investigations took place.
Officers searched Green’s car and seized her mobile phone which contained messages indicating she was in a relationship with the prisoner.
Otugade also had a number added to his ‘approved contacts list’ inside the prison under the name “partner”. The number was later found to be a match for a phone belonging to Green.
Green, of Market Rasen Way, Holbeach, later pleaded guilty to wilful misconduct in a public office and was sentenced to one year and four months in prison at Cambridge Crown Court on Wednesday (June 24).
Detective Constable Tom Adams, who investigated, said: “As a prison officer, you have a responsibility to keep prisoners and your colleagues safe.
“This was a serious breach of Green’s responsibilities, and she failed to consider the potential impact on the security and safety of the staff and prisoners and how her actions undermined the work of the prison.
“This sentence shows how seriously the police and courts take such breaches.”
