‘Infatuated’ officer jailed over sex with inmate
An “madly in love” prison officer who had a “serious sexual relationship” with a prisoner he worked for has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison.
Charlotte Winstanley, 27, smuggled a number of contraband items into HMP Lindholme, near Doncaster, for prisoner Jabhari Blair, 30, including a mobile phone they used to send “obscene photographs and videos”.
Sheffield Crown Court was told that Winstanley, from Doncaster Coronation Road, told Blair in one message: “I love my job but I love you more.”
Blair, a former organized gang member, was sentenced to 12.5 years in prison in 2014.
He was sentenced to 13 months in prison on Monday after admitting possession of cannabis, a banned phone and a USB stick.
Winstanley admitted to misconduct in public office and publishing photos from prison.
The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, described the case as the “worst” of its kind he had ever dealt with.
The court previously heard messages emerged between Winstanley and Blair describing Mondays as “date nights”.
Prosecutor Aaron Dinnes told the court prison cameras captured “private moments” that showed them touching each other and disappearing into rooms together.
Dinnes said a message from Blair showed he “couldn’t wait to give Miss Winstanley a beautiful baby”.
Richardson told the court Winstanley became an operational support officer at HMP Lindholme in October 2020, before becoming a prison officer and undergoing anti-corruption training.
“While working on J-Wing, you began a corrupt relationship with Blair,” he said.
“You knew it was wrong and went against all your training.”
He said that although there were “doubts” about him, he “arrogantly expressed this situation and continued”. [the] corruption issue”.
The court knew that the sentence Blair was serving was for a serious crime and had taken a screenshot of a news story showing this.
The judge said Winstanley bought sim cards for himself and smuggled them into prison.
“You professed your love for each other and engaged in WhatsApp and Snapchat messages,” Richardson said, adding that much of it was “obvious and unnecessary.”
One message from Winstanley read: “Literally praying for you to have babies,” while another said: “Life starts now baby. Every sacrifice I make is to be with you.”
“It’s abundantly clear that you both knew what you were doing was illegal and corrupt,” Richardson said.
He added that Winstanley gave Blair sensitive information about the movements of prisoners, health information about other prisoners and intelligence about a planned search of his cell.
The court heard Blair used his prison contacts to ensure Winstanley was protected, saying someone was prepared to “fight immediately if necessary”.
The judge said Winstanley had also become close to Blair’s mother, who was “clearly aware of the nature of the relationship”.
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