Prison tutor jailed after sending explicit love letters to inmate
A prison teacher who sent “explicit” love letters to a prisoner and was found “agitated” in a locked room with him has been jailed for eight months.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard handwritten letters from Melissa Murphy, formerly Melissa O’Brien, 49, were found in a prisoner’s cell at HMP Chelmsford and a photograph of the prisoner was found at his home.
During disciplinary interrogation, he admitted writing love letters and locking himself in a workshop with the prisoner, but denied any physical relationship.
He admitted having an inappropriate relationship with the prisoner and was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday.
Judge Jamie Sawyer said that on December 8, 2023, Murphy requested that the prisoner be brought to the workshop even though there was no class scheduled that day.
“This unusual request caused concern. You were later found alone with him in a locked room, appearing alarmed when the door opened,” he said.
Murphy started his job in 2020 providing job training to help inmates find jobs after release.
He was arrested for the first time on December 11, 2023 and his teaching position was terminated.
Murphy was later indicted on February 12, 2025. He pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office at a hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court on November 28.
In the same court on Friday Judge Sawyer said: “Ms Murphy, your offending is so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified.
“You held a position of trust in the prison and abused that trust by engaging in a romantic relationship with an inmate, exposing yourself to corruption and undermining trust in the prison system.”
The court heard a SIM card was found at Murphy’s home and correspondence in which the prisoner was encouraged to hand over his sim card so he could communicate privately with her.
The judge said he could see no evidence that this was happening, but the potential was clear.
The prosecution did not suggest that physical intercourse occurred, and Murphy denied physical intimacy.
Sentencing Murphy to eight months in prison, the judge described the crime as an “isolated mistake” and said: “The victim here, and there is a victim in my opinion, is the public.
“Trust in the prison system is crucial. And your behavior, particularly at HMP Chelmsford, has further eroded that trust.”
The judge told Murphy he would serve 40 percent of his eight-month prison sentence in custody.
In a separate case Friday, a former prison officer was jailed after he was caught performing a sex act on an inmate with his body-worn video camera.
Rebecca Pinckard, 46, had a “close encounter” with prisoner Erion Nakdi, 42, in a shop cupboard at HMP Highpoint in Suffolk, Cambridge Crown Court heard.
The mother, from Six Mile Bottom, Cambridgeshire, had previously sent a Moonpig card to the Albanian national, who is serving a 16-year prison sentence for drug offences.
He admitted misconduct in a public office at an earlier hearing and was sentenced to 32 weeks in prison.
Prosecutor Gavin Burrell said Pinckard was caught performing sex acts on Nakdi in two video clips shot five minutes apart with his own body-worn camera on July 5, 2024.
The clips were found by another officer who reviewed body-worn camera footage for evidence.
Judge Anthony Cartin said Pinckard’s crime was “only discovered due to a clumsy mistake” and added: “A police officer collecting evidence found evidence from your camera.”
“Your camera was activated during the close encounter,” he said.
Judge Cartin continued: “The offense was not a one-off; it continued over several months and the card was issued.”
In jailing Pinckard, he said his “conduct diminishes public confidence in the criminal justice system.”
Prosecutor Mr Burrell said it was revealed that Pinckard sent Nakdi a Moonpig card on April 10, 2024.
He said that the sexually explicit videos of Nakdi in the prison cell were removed from Pinckard’s mobile phone and that “it was accepted that the videos were shot in prison and sent via messages on social media.”
The judge stated that Pinckard did not report the sexual content to the authorities when he received the videos.
Nakdi, who appeared in court via prison video link, admitted at the previous hearing that he had a mobile phone in prison without permission between July 2 and July 6, 2024.
He was sentenced to 10 months consecutive to his current sentence of 16 years and three months for conspiracy to supply class A drugs and was sentenced at Luton Crown Court in 2022.
Rory Keene, on behalf of Cash, described the unauthorized device as a “pool phone”.
Mr Keene said: “This is truly a tragic example of the emotional pull between two people.”
He described the Moonpig card as a “love card.”
Juliet Donovan, representing Pinckard, said it was a “moment of madness” and that it was “not an affair”.
He said Pinckard “had just broken up with a 19-year relationship” and that “home life was particularly difficult at the time.”
Miss Donovan said Pinckard “never gave (Nakdi) his mobile phone number, so there was no issue with repeated text messages.”
He said Pinckard sent the Moonpig card because Nakdi “explained that he was having problems with his girlfriend” and Pinckard wanted to “try to cheer him up”.
The court heard Pinckard was given a warning in October 2023 for being “too familiar” with prisoners.
Miss Donovan said Pinckard’s “giving out cakes and desserts” was “naively and foolishly trying to make the prisoners’ lives a little better.”
Pinckard wiped tears from her eyes during Friday’s sentencing and appeared tearful as she was led to the cells.
