Women prison guards at same jail sentenced for affairs with inmates as colleagues get training to stop corruption

3 January 2023, 18:23

Three female prison guards have been jailed after starting secret affairs with inmates.

Jennifer Gavan, 27, Ayshea Gunn, 27, and Emily Watson, 26, have been jailed for their illicit encounters at HMP Berwyn in North Wales in the last few years.

Gavan smuggled phone for prisoner Alex Coxon in exchange for £150, kissed him and sent him photos during their three-month relationship in 2020. She was given eight months in December after admitting misconduct in public office at Mold Crown Court.

But the judge, Niclas Parry, sentencing Gavan – of Llay in Wrexham – was surprised that the guard;s colleagues had written in support of her, even criticising other staff at the jail.

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A year before Gavan embarked on the relationship with Coxon, Gunn had one with a prisoner called Khuram Razaq, making sexual calls to him during his 12-year stint for a robbery conspiracy.

Officers found her bedroom contained photos of them kissing and hugging, and it was claimed she smuggled in knickers inside her bra. She got one year in prison in 2019.

And previously, Watson had intercourse and twice performed a sex act on an inmate while she was in his cell. She was given a year in jail in 2019.

Staff at the prison are now getting training to stop these kinds of affairs from happening.

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HMP Berwyn is used to imprison Category C men and has capacity for some 2,100 of them.

That category includes people who are capable of undergoing training and resettlement so they can be released back into the community.

An inspection recently found that security at the jail was good, with staff vetted every ten years.

A Prison Service spokesman said: "The overwhelming majority of Prison Service staff are hardworking and dedicated and we will not hesitate to punish those who break the rules.

"Over 500 members of staff at HMP Berwyn have undertaken corruption prevention training in the last 18 months and our enhanced security is protecting the prison against attempts to smuggle illicit items inside."