Prison officer jailed for relationship with inmate

A former prison officer who had an "intimate" relationship with an inmate has been jailed for 21 months.

Mother-of-one Katie Evans, 26, was "corrupted" by robber Daniel Brownley not long after starting work at HMP Doncaster, Sheffield Crown Court heard on Tuesday.

Evans, of Hatfield in Doncaster, had more than 140 phone calls with Brownley, moved money around accounts for him and boasted of performing a sex act, the court heard.

Judge Jeremy Richardson KC said there was "no excuse" for her offending despite her being "manipulated by an experienced criminal".

Evans had admitted the "intimate" relationship but it was not clear whether she accepted it was a sexual one.

Prosecutor Matthew Burdon earlier told the court Evans had boasted to an ex-prison officer that she had performed a sex act on the inmate.

The judge heard the defendant referred to herself as "your queen" when talking to Brownley.

Judge Richardson told Evans: "It appears you indulged in some form of sexual activity in the prison.

"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."

He added: "I'm entirely satisfied you were manipulated by an experienced criminal to assist him.

"Your misconduct materially affected the good order and discipline of the prison."

The judge said Evans was "young and immature" at the time of the offending in 2020 and that she was "regrettably susceptible to manipulation".

"You were inexperienced and immature but that is, however, no excuse for what you did," he told her.

He said he accepted she was genuinely remorseful and posed no danger to the public in the future.

Judge Richardson said Evans' sentence of 21 months should have been longer but, "purely as an act of mercy", he reduced it.

He cited the effect it would have on Evans' relationship with her young daughter and the difficulties she would experience in prison as a former officer.

Evans admitted misconduct in a public office at a previous hearing.

She cried and waved at family members in the public gallery as she was led from the dock.

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 had been released but was back in prison in 2020 after he was recalled for breaching his licence conditions.

Det Con Scott Jarvis said Evans had brought "shame on the profession".

"People like Evans who undermine public trust while holding positions of authority will be dealt with by the full force of the law," he added.

He thanked staff at Serco, the owner of the prison, for cooperating with the investigation.

A spokesperson for the company said it had a "zero-tolerance approach" to staff who did not meet expected standards.

They added: "On those rare occasions when one of our officers falls short of the required standards, we work closely with the police to investigate the issue fully and when necessary take appropriate action.”

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