‘Bad boy energy’: Top psychotherapist reveals real reasons why female prison officers risk everything to fall in love with dangerous inmates

Joannes Hunter28, had a relationship with Connor Willis while working at HMP Forest Bank in Salford.

Hunter – described by the court as 'naive' and 'vulnerable' – believed Willis was 'in love' with her and agreed to smuggle parcels, including cannabis, into prison for him. She also sent him explicit photos, which were later found on her phone.

Manchester Crown Court heard how Hunter, who has a master's degree in child and youth studies, started working at the prison in December 2018.

In December 2020, prison authorities received information that she was taking items inside and when interviewed by security managers she admitted to being in a relationship with Willis.

She smuggled parcels, including some containing cannabis, into the prison by passing them on to another inmate – who she knew as a 'big player' and member of a crime gang – for Willis. Willis offered to pay her £200-300 for each parcel, but she refused to take the money.

Hunter, from Bury, Greater Manchester, pleaded guilty at a hearing in March to charges of conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office and introducing or transporting cannabis into prison.

She pleaded not guilty to bringing or transferring an unauthorized cell phone into the jail and those charges were filed. Richard Orme, defending, said Hunter was a 'naive, impressionable and vulnerable young woman'.

“She was ripe for allowing an unscrupulous criminal to take advantage in her first job outside of teaching,” he said.

Mr Orme said Hunter had never had a serious relationship or boyfriend because “she was focused on her education.”

The judge, Recorder Paul Hodgkinson, jailed her for three years, saying her actions had 'gotten to the heart of the criminal justice system' and had 'seriously undermined' discipline and order in the prison, leaving the public, fellow prison officials and other prisoners in danger.

Aisha Golsby23, was working at HMP Portland in Dorset when she became involved with convict Deano Harrison.

Harrison, who was 21 at the time and has been convicted of theft and drug trafficking, began the illicit relationship with the glamorous Golsby by messaging her on Instagram using a phone that had been illegally smuggled into the prison.

The loved-up couple called and messaged each other, with the inmate saying he had “never felt so much love” while she wrote how she trusted him with her heart.

While Golsby filed reports about other inmates having cellphones, she did not do so for Harrison because of her feelings for him — an event that tipped him off about cell searches so he could hide his phone.

His cellphone was finally found and a search for it by Golsby's shocked colleagues uncovered her and Harrison's relationship.

Golsby, from Weymouth, Dorset, was arrested and interviewed. She was suspended before handing in her resignation two months later. She pleaded guilty to three counts of misconduct in a public office and was jailed at Bournemouth Crown Court.

Golsby started working at HMP Portland in April 2020, when she was just 19 years old. Harrison initially contacted her via Instagram in August 2021.

In one message, Harrison wrote to her, “I haven't felt like that about anyone. I never thought it would go deep, I never thought I would get attached to you. I've never felt love for someone in such a short time.'

A search of his phone revealed that Golsby messaged Harrison in January 2022, when she became concerned that someone had discovered them, saying: 'I trusted you with all my heart, I really hope what you say is true'.

Eleven telephone conversations were also recorded between them from January 23 until the phone was discovered during a cell search on January 28.

Harrison was transferred to another prison but made several attempts to contact Golsby, with letters being intercepted by the prison service.

Golsby also sent him messages, printed through Free Prints, saying she thought of him in “affectionate terms.”

Hollie Gilbery, defending, told the court Golsby was a hard-working young woman with no previous convictions and very clear remorse 'for her own stupidity'.

She tried to convince Judge Jonathan Fuller to give Golsby a suspended sentence. But in jailing her for 16 months, he said prison misconduct must be tackled seriously by the courts.

Sarah Jane Williams38, from Widnes, Cheshire, was working at HMP Altcourse in Liverpool when she “fell into the traps and arms of sophisticated criminals”, her lawyers said.

Liverpool Crown Court heard the prison worker knew the inmates had mobile phones but chose to exchange messages and explicit images with them rather than report their illegal devices to her bosses.

The court heard this involved 'sexual messages and chat and images, intimate sexual chat'.

Williams had no physical sexual contact with the people she was supposed to protect.

The court heard that after completing her training – which included training on 'corruption prevention' – she was placed in the 'Canal' wing of Altcourse.

The mother of three was jailed for 18 months.

Katie Loxton was a prison officer at HMP Oakwood in Staffordshire when she first met Adam Higgs, 32.

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard Loxton, 27, would spend much of her time in the block where Higgs was based, raising the suspicions of some of her colleagues.

Further checks revealed the pair had bypassed the prison's security system and were communicating via a fake contact on Higgs' phone in his cell. Higgs made 3,451 calls to the number and spoke to Loxton for more than 380 hours.

The calls cost him a total of £798 between July 7, 2021 and January 13, 2022.

He also hid a mobile phone, which he then used to communicate with Loxton via social media. The court heard the pair often 'performed sexual acts with each other' while on the phone.

Loxton was arrested and her home was searched on January 27 last year. During the search, three handwritten letters from Higgs were found inside.

Higgs, from Grantham, Lincolnshire, was interviewed in prison about the findings in March 2022. The pair later admitted their offenses in court.

Loxton, of Sandwell, West Midlands, also admitted transmitting or causing an image/sound by electronic means from a prison.

She was jailed for 12 months for misconduct in public office.

Roxanne Walker, 34, was spotted by colleagues giggling with 'manipulative' prisoner Daniel Carter at the £250million HMP Berwyn in Wrexham, North Wales. She later admitted to police: 'I made a mistake. I fell in love with Daniel Carter; it's completely wrong.'

Walker, whose marriage has since collapsed, was given a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, in addition to 200 hours of unpaid work.

Opened in 2017, the prison has been dubbed 'Britain's most comfortable prison' for its unconventional approach to incarceration, with cells also known as 'rooms'.

Walker admitted misconduct in public office and cannabis possession.

In August 2022, Walker was confronted during a support call – and she said she was 'disappointed' that her colleagues had reported her.

But the following month, Carter's use of the prison's telephone system was investigated and it was found that he had added a woman named 'Leanna Baker' to his list with whom he had had explicit conversations. It was actually Walker.

Officers arrested Walker and searched her home, finding cannabis for 'personal use'.

Andrew McInnes, defending, said: “In her words she had fallen in love with Daniel Carter; an inmate who, it seems, has a history of conditioning behavior towards staff members.

'She realized she had been manipulated. He told her what she wanted to hear. Her marriage was in trouble and this was perhaps a vulnerable time in her life.'

In May, Judge Niclas Parry sentenced Walker to nine months but was persuaded to suspend the sentence for two years due to two 'exceptional' features of the case.

He ruled that her relationship had not resulted in any illegal items or assistance being given to the prisoner – and that she is the single mother of a young dependent child.