A former prison officer at HMP Doncaster has been jailed for 21 months for having an “intimate” relationship with an inmate.
Mother-of-one Katie Evans, 26, was “manipulated” by “experienced criminal” Daniel Brownley and had a relationship with him in 2020, Sheffield Crown Court heard on Tuesday.
Evans communicated with Brownley via a sim card that had been smuggled into the facility by someone else and had 140 communications with him. Evans used a false name to hide her identity.
Some of their calls lasted up to 49 minutes and a search of Evans’ home also found love letters between the pair.
The judge heard that Evans, who had previously admitted misconduct in a public office, referred to herself as “your queen” when talking to Brownley.
Judge Jeremy Richardson KC told Evans: “It appears you indulged in some form of sexual activity in the prison. It has been described that on one occasion you had oral sex with him.”
During their relationship, Brownley was transferred to another prison, at which point he absconded to meet her for an intimate encounter.
She also assisted with moving money related to cannabis, and shared prison information with Brownley that was prohibited.
The court heard that Brownley had been jailed for five-and-a-half years in 2016 for attempted robbery, burglary and handling stolen goods. He was on recall at this time for breaching his license conditions.
Judge Richardson said that Evans was “young and immature” at the time of the offending which made her “susceptible to manipulation”.
He recognised that she had no previous convictions and had been “a woman of good character” before offending.
Judge Richardson also noted that prison would “fall hard” on her due to her status as a former prison officer and was willing to make a “modest” adjustment to her sentence as an “act of mercy” for her young daughter.
Evans, from Crookes Broom Avenue, Doncaster, wept in the dock as she was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment.
Judge Richardson said: “It is truly a terrible situation for a judge to be passing sentence on a former prison officer who has been branded a corrupt prison officer.”
She cried and waved to her family in the public gallery as she was escorted away.