Two prison workers jailed for inappropriate relationships with inmates

16 January 2026 , 19:39

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Two prison workers jailed for inappropriate relationships with inmates

Two prison workers have been sentenced to eight months in jail after being found guilty of having inappropriate relationships with prisoners, including sexual acts and the exchange of erotic letters.

Rebecca Pinckard, 46, a prison officer at HMP Highpoint in Suffolk, was caught performing a sexual act involving inmate Erion Nakdi in a store cupboard in July. The incident was recorded on her own body-worn camera, with two video clips filmed five minutes apart. The court was told the relationship was not a one-off, and sexual videos of the prisoner were also found on Pinckard’s phone. She had additionally sent him a card earlier in the year.

Judge Anthony Cartin said the offence took place over a period of months and represented a serious breach of trust. Pinckard, a mother, was jailed after the footage was uncovered during an investigation.

Melissa Murphy, 49, who worked as a tutor at HMP Chelmsford in Essex, was convicted of misconduct in a public office after engaging in a romantic relationship with inmate Gavon Smith. Murphy, who was engaged to someone else at the time, sent erotic letters to the prisoner and was discovered alone with him in a locked room in December 2023.

The court heard that Murphy requested Smith be brought to the workshop where she taught industrial cleaning, despite there being no scheduled class that day. A colleague later found the pair together, with Murphy appearing flustered when the door was opened. Although she denied any physical relationship, she admitted writing love letters and locking herself in a room with the inmate.

Sentencing Murphy, Judge Jamie Sawyer said she had abused a position of trust and undermined confidence in the prison system. He added that the victim of her actions was the public, whose trust in the integrity of prisons had been damaged.

Both women were sentenced today, with Murphy also placed under a 12-month supervision order following her release.

Elizabeth Baker