A former prison officer had a relationship with an inmate who was jailed for murder.
Olivia Hodgson has now been jailed herself, for misconduct in a public office, after starting a relationship with prisoner Lavarne Forde-Morgan in early 2020. The 26-year-old had been working at HMP Garth, in Lancashire, when she smuggled in mobile phones to the prisoner so she was able to speak to him outside of work.
Hodgson, of Hawthorn Road, Preston, was caught when in January 2021, Forde-Morgan was transferred to another prison and they found his mobile phone. A mobile phone was analysed and detectives found evidence that he had been in touch with another mobile number, later found to belong to Hodgson.
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On July, 30, 2021 Hodgson was arrested at HMP Garth and her home address was searched. Officers seized another mobile phone which contained images of the pair, as well as a birthday card addressed to Hodgson which had Forde-Morgan's fingerprints on.
Forde-Morgan, who is currently serving a sentence for murder and possessing a shotgun and firearm with intent to endanger life, admitted to possessing prohibited mobile phones and was jailed for an additional 18 months. Hodgson was jailed for eight months.
Detective constable Becky Pearson from the North-West Regional Organised Crime Unit’s Prison Anti-Corruption Unit, said: "Olivia abused her position as a prison officer by choosing to have an inappropriate relationship with an inmate and she will now have to face the consequences of her actions.
"She acted in a calculated manner using a variety of numbers, phones and chat applications to try and evade detection. In doing so, she was able to continue the relationship with Forde-Morgan despite him moving to another prison.
"Olivia knew right from wrong and had received adequate corruption training where she would have gained a good understanding of the criminal outcomes should a relationship be entered into with a prisoner. We will continue to take robust action and investigate any offences which we suspect are taking place in our prisons.
"We want to reassure the honest, dedicated, and hardworking prison staff that we will continue to act against any member of staff who chooses to engage in corrupt activity. We encourage anyone who has information about corruption in our prisons to report it."
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