Prison officer jailed for 15 months after sex with inmate in cell

A prison officer has been jailed for 15 months after having sex with an inmate in a cell.

Linda De Sousa Abreu, 30, of Fulham, south-west London, was charged after a video of the activity was shared on social media.

A police investigation was launched after officers were made aware of a video filmed inside HMP Wandsworth in south London.

De Sousa Abreu, who is a mother-of-one, was arrested and pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office at Isleworth Crown Court in July last year.

She appeared at the same court on Monday wearing a grey suit and white shirt, and was sentenced to 15 months in prison.

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 told De Sousa Abreu: “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.”

The charge says that De Sousa Abreu “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”.

The court heard that De Sousa Abreu, who had a history of poor mental health and trauma, had consented to sexual activity with Linton Weirich at Wandsworth on June 25 2024.

She also agreed to a second prisoner being present and filming the activity while appearing to smoke cannabis.

The second prisoner later sent the video to a friend who shared it on X, formerly known as Twitter.

De Sousa Abreu also asked Judge Edmunds to consider two further offences, one being sexual activity with the same prisoner earlier that day and the other being a separate sexual encounter with Weirich within at least three to four days of the main offence.

After seeing the clip had gone viral, the prison officer attempted to fly to Madrid and later Madeira, where she had family, to wait for things to “calm down”.

She was arrested at Heathrow Airport after notifying the prison of her travel plans.

Judge Edmunds said: “From what I know about you, you were certainly not naive about the media or social media.

“It must have been obvious that the recording would be shown around and shared, at least amongst prisoners at Wandsworth where it would do the most harm.

“Whether you intended it or not, the fact is that the video went viral, and caused great harm.

“Many offenders do not intend the harm that their offending causes, but they nevertheless bear responsibility for it.”

Victim impact statements read out on behalf of members of the Prison Service, including the current governor of Wandsworth, heard how the defendant’s actions had led to female officers at the prison being “subject to abuse and harassment from prisoners” as well as being subjected to sexual approaches and being seen as “fair game”.

Some female officers have claimed their children have been subjected to teasing at school over what their mothers may do at work, the court heard.

Judge Edmunds concluded: “The consequence of the recording going viral, a result that you did not intend but which was certainly a consequence of your offence, has been that prison officers have faced heckling and harassment.

“They have been confronted with sexualised images falsely suggesting that your conduct is typical.

“Children of your fellow female prison officers have been teased as to what their mothers may do at work.

“It is inevitable that the damage for which you were responsible at Wandsworth has spread, to some degree, through the prison estate.”

A Prison Service spokesperson said: “While the overwhelming majority of Prison Service staff are hardworking and honest, we’re catching more of the small minority who break the rules by bolstering our Counter Corruption Unit and strengthening our vetting processes.

“As today’s sentencing demonstrates, where officers do fall below our high standards we won’t hesitate to take robust action.”