Prison officer who had sex with inmate in cell sentenced to 15 months
A prison officer who was filmed having sex with an inmate in his cell has been sentenced to 15 months in prison.
Footage of Linda De Sousa Abreu and prisoner Linton Weirich at HMP Wandsworth in south London was widely shared on social media last summer.
The video shows the pair having sex while De Sousa Abreu’s radio crackles with messages in the background.
Weirich’s cellmate filmed the liaison on his phone, and can be heard saying: ‘This is how we roll in Wandsworth.’
At another point, someone appears to try to come into the cell, and the camera operator is heard saying to them: ‘Give me a minute, one second.’
It later emerged that Weirich, 36, was jailed over a £65,000 luxury flat robbery, and he had a heavily pregnant girlfriend at home.
The clip went viral on social media (Picture: Pixel8000)
De Sousa Abreu – who is married – was arrested at Heathrow Airport, where she was due to catch a flight to Madrid after notifying the prison of her holiday plans.
In November, she pleaded guilty to misconduct in an appearance at Isleworth Crown Court.
The charge stated that the 30-year-old mother ‘wilfully and without reasonable excuse or justification misconducted yourself in a way which amounted to an abuse of the public’s trust in the office holder by engaging in a sexual act with a prisoner in a prison cell’.
Senior Crown Prosecutor Tetteh Turkson said: ‘This was a shocking breach of the public’s trust.
‘De Sousa was clearly an enthusiastic participant who wrongly thought she would avoid responsibility.’
The defendant was told she would serve half her time in custody and the rest on licence.
She was also entitled to a reduction of 95 days after it was revealed she had been wearing an electronic tag for 190 days.
Sentencing, Judge Martin Edmunds KC said: ‘You engaged in sexual activity with a prisoner. That compromised your role as an officer, and was misconduct which undermines discipline within the prison, and puts fellow officers at increased risk.
‘You knew that conduct was forbidden and forbidden for good reason.’
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