A prison officer who admitted to having sex with an inmate in a cell while on duty has been jailed for 15 months.
Linda De Sousa Abreu was charged in June last year, after a video was shared on social media showing a prison officer having sex with an inmate at HMP Wandsworth in south London. The married officer admitted misconduct in a public officer, back in July and has appeared today to be sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court.
Wearing a grey pin-striped blazer over a white shirt, De Sousa Abreu spoke only to confirm her name from the dock and she appeared to be holding back tears during the sentencing hearing.
The charge against her said that as a public officer at HMP Wandsworth prison officer, she abused her position by engaging in a sexual act with an inmate in a prison cell between June 26-28.
The shocking footage, which has been widely shared on social media, including X, captures the woman, clad in uniform, initially engaging in what appears to be a sex act with the criminal. It then purports to show her having sex with the prisoner while his cellmate films on a mobile phone in the Category B clink in southwest London.
The friend, who appears to be smoking while recording, says: “Guys we’ve made history, this is what I’m telling you.” Colleagues are heard on the officer’s radio, left on a side table, in the video, which also captures piles of the prisoner’s clothes heaped over a bunk bed.
At one point in the footage, someone appears to try to come into the cell, and the man filming, can be heard saying to the person on the other side of the door “Give me a minute, one second.” The prisoner filming tells his friend to carry on and then pans the camera round momentarily and, grinning, says: “This is how we roll in Wandsworth.”
The mother was arrested at Heathrow Airport and was due to catch a flight to Madrid having notified the prison of her travel plans. De Sousa Abreu, who holds a Portuguese passport, pleaded guilty to the charge and was granted conditional bail.
Tetteh Turkson, of the Crown Prosecution Service, previously 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 CPS recognises there is no excuse for any prison officer who conducts themselves in such a manner, and we will never hesitate to prosecute those who abuse their position of power.
“After working closely with the Metropolitan Police to build the strongest possible case, De Sousa had no option but accept she was guilty. She will now rightly face the consequences of her actions.” A spokesman for HMP Prison Service said at the time the video surfaced: “Staff corruption is not tolerated and the former prison officer allegedly featured in this video has been reported to the police. It would be inappropriate to comment further while they investigate.”
Eloise Marshall KC, prosecuting on Monday, said Abreu had asked two matters to be taken into consideration by the judge when passing sentence. “The first one is one previous occasion of sexual intercourse with the same prisoner (Weirich),” said Ms Marshall. And the second incident “took place on the same date” involved a second inmate, on June 25 – the same day as the filmed encounter with Weirich. She said it “relates to oral sex” and was “partially recorded on her own prison-issued body-worn camera”.
Abreu was born in Venezuela, has a Portuguese passport and has one previous conviction with “no relevance” to this matter dating back to 2014, the court heard. In a prepared statement written by De Sousa Abreu following her arrest she claimed was “terrified for her own safety” prior to the offences.
She said: “I thought if I didn’t go along with it, they [the prisoners] would have both raped me and there was no guard on the landing. All the prisoners were out on the third landing, no-one was banged up, it was very loud and everyone was out. I was too scared to reach for my whistle and blow it – no-one would have heard, they would have seriously assaulted me if I’d tried to get the whistle. At all times I was acting under duress.”
Ms Marshall said this account had since been proved to be “entirely false” and that De Sousa Abreu had “never made any complaints to the prison about any incidents involving her”. She continued: “The crown say there is premeditation and clearly some planning. She had to make sure she would be on the wing alone with him in order to do this, she also arranged for (the second prisoner) to be present to keep watch while it went on.
“We say the act was undoubtedly deliberate and intentional in terms of planning . [It was] an intentional breach of her duties as a prison officer. She had the necessary training and knew what her duties were and was aware she had to maintain a professional relationship with the prisoners.
“She has undermined the authority of all prison staff – she specifically and severely undermined the positive effect that a female officer can have in male environment in a male prison, and how a female officer may be perceived. [She also] undermined the trust of prisoners and the integrity of the staff.”
HMP Wandsworth governor Andrew Davy said in a statement read to the court: “It has taken many years for female staff to be respected and treated professionally in a male dominated environment. The action of this defendant has undone years of positive and rewarding prisoner interactions in less than a day.”
Rajiv Menon, KC, defending, said Abreu has “taken full responsibility for her actions” while also noting the “conditions she was working in at Wandsworth prison. She accepts full responsibility for engaging consensually in sexual activity with the prisoners and accepts full responsibility for allowing that encounter to be filmed – no ifs and no buts.”
Last week, another female prison officer was arrested after she was allegedly filmed having sex with an inmate. Footage of the guard and male prisoner was shared with prisoners at HMP Five Wells, Northamptonshire, the Sun newspaper reported.
A spokesperson for the jail said: “A prison custody officer has been suspended and arrested by Northamptonshire Police on suspicion of misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to comment further while they investigate.” HMP Five Wells is run privately by operator G4S.
