Prison officer jailed after being filmed having sex with inmate in cell
A former prison officer who was filmed having sex with an inmate in a cell has been jailed for 15 months.
Linda De Sousa Abreu, 30, of Fulham, south-west London, was charged with misconduct after a video of the activity was shared on social media.
Footage of De Sousa Abreu and prisoner Linton Weirich at HMP Wandsworth in south London shows the two having sex while her radio crackles with messages in the background.
The encounter was filmed by Weirich’s cellmate and lasts for about five minutes.
De Sousa Abreu, who is married, was later arrested at Heathrow Airport whilst attempting to board a flight to Madrid with her father.
Isleworth Crown Court was told that she telephoned the prison as she fled to the airport to say she was not returning to work, and that her husband would return her equipment.
The 30-year-old previously pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office following the offence in June last year.
The charge says that De Sousa Abreu “wilfully and without reasonable excuse or justification misconducted yourself in a way which amounted to an abuse of the public’s trust in the office holder by engaging in a sexual act with a prisoner in a prison cell”.
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It later emerged that another encounter between the pair had been captured on De Sousa Abreu’s prison-issue body-worn camera – an encounter she confirmed.
Judge Martin Edmunds KC said the viral video was not an isolated incident and was part of repeated behaviour.
He added that her actions compromised her job, undermined discipline in the prison and put officers at increased risk.
Senior Crown Prosecutor Tetteh Turkson said: “This was a shocking breach of the public’s trust.
“De Sousa was clearly an enthusiastic participant who wrongly thought she would avoid responsibility.”
A spokesperson for the Prison Service said: “While the overwhelming majority of Prison Service staff are hardworking and honest, we’re catching more of the small minority who break the rules by bolstering our Counter Corruption Unit and strengthening our vetting processes.
“As today’s sentencing demonstrates, where officers do fall below our high standards we won’t hesitate to take robust action.”