Preston Probation officer hid relationship with prisoner
A Preston prison officer who failed to disclose she was in a relationship with an inmate when she got the job has been sentenced to 12 months.
Probation officer Leonie Wilkinson, 27, did not disclose any conflicts of interest when she applied for the role at HMP Preston or during her vetting period, the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (NWROCU).
Wilkinson, from Preston, was sentenced at the city’s Crown Court on Friday (August 8) after an anti-corruption investigation found her relationship with a prisoner posed a "significant risk to prison security".
She formally started work as a probation officer in 2020, but failed to disclose that she had been in a relationship with prisoner Gary Hampson since 2018.
Their relationship was uncovered after a mobile phone found in his cell showed the pair had called, emailed and messaged each other.
Wilkinson, who pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office, was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for 18 months.
Det Insp Brian Morley, of NWROCU, said: "Wilkinson's actions represented a serious breach of trust and undermined the integrity of the criminal justice system."
Wilkinson was also sentenced for offences including unauthorised access to a computer and encouraging the possession of a mobile device.
Hampson, 26, was handed six months' imprisonment to run consecutively with his existing sentence after admitting encouraging misconduct in a public office and possessing an unauthorised mobile phone in prison.