18 hours ago
Female prison officer admits inappropriate relationship with inmate
A female prison officer faces jail after admitting an 'inappropriate relationship' with an inmate.
Megan Breen, 23, initially denied the fling with the unnamed prisoner, which happened while she was working at two prisons in Wales.
But she later changed her plea to admit misconduct in a public office and will be sentenced for the offence next month.
Breen was working at both HMP Usk, a category C jail, and nearby HMP Prescoed, an open prison, when the offence was committed. Both jails are in Gwent, South Wales.
HMP Usk is a closed prison for adult male vulnerable inmates, who include sex offenders and convicted police officers.
The charge states: 'While acting as a public officer, namely a prison officer, wilfully and without reasonable excuse or justification, [you] misconducted yourself in a way which amounted to an abuse of the public's trust in the office holder by having a relationship with a prisoner.'
The crime was said to have taken place between February and May 2022.
Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard that a second allegation of illegally accessing a computer would not be proceeded.
Breen, of Newport, Gwent, was released on bail but warned she could face jail when she returns to court to be sentenced.
Misconduct in public office is a serious offence which in the most extreme cases carries a penalty of life imprisonment.
Judge Carl Harrison ordered a pre-sentence report but told Breen that 'all sentencing options' remained open.
HMP Usk houses 280 inmates and is managed jointly with HMP Prescoed, which is three miles away and houses offenders serving the final term of their sentences before being released.
Female prison officers have been allowed to work inside male establishments since the early 1980s and there are currently about 15,000 women employed in jails in England and Wales.
