Prison officer and inmate jailed over illicit relationship

A former prison officer and an inmate have been jailed following an illicit relationship conducted through prohibited mobile phones at HMP Long Lartin.

Jade Morris, 37, was sentenced to 12 months in prison at Birmingham Crown Court after pleading guilty to misconduct in public office and encouraging an inmate to use a prohibited device. The court heard that Morris, who worked at the maximum-security facility in Worcestershire, exchanged over 10,000 messages and sexually explicit images with Jerome Nunes, 35, between July 2022 and January 2023.

Nunes, a convicted drug dealer serving a 12-year sentence, was sentenced to nine months for possessing and using an unauthorised mobile phone. The relationship was discovered after Nunes attempted to dispose of an encrypted phone from his cell window during a search. Authorities subsequently uncovered the extensive communication via WhatsApp and Snapchat, along with a letter from Nunes confirming the intimate nature of their connection.