Gangster who trapped glamorous prison guard into phone sex also had affair with nurse in same jail

A gangster who persuaded a prison guard to have phone sex with him, costing her her job, previously had an affair with a nurse in the same prison.

Drug dealer Harri Pullen, 25, 'terrified' handsome prison officer Ruth Shmylo in intimate phone conversations with him after he allegedly made threats towards her family.

Ms Shmylo, 26, was acquitted of having an inappropriate relationship with the criminal between December 2020 and April 2021.

It can now be reported that Pullen was in a relationship with another member of prison staff, nurse Elyse Mae Hibbs, 25, who was jailed for six months and suspended from the nursing register for a year over her own affair with the lout.

The drug dealer's behavior has now been linked to two women facing professional consequences after he allegedly used threats to manipulate them into talking to him in the same prison.

Hibbs' affair with Pullen had previously been reported, but the criminal's name remained out of the public domain while the trial against Ms Shmylo continued.

Hibbs is said to have communicated with Pullen through a mutual acquaintance on Instagram. Her 2022 trial revealed that Pullen allegedly communicated with her through an iPhone that he kept hidden from him.

She resigned from HMP Parc in Bridgend in July 2021 and was arrested a week later.

Ms Hibbs admitted exchanging messages with the prisoner and told police she was afraid to cut off contact after he previously threatened her.

Prosecutor Matthew Cobbe said of the nurse's calls to the prisoner: 'He tells her he loves her and she tells him she loves him too.

'The calls included references to the suspect's existing partner and the inmate continually suggested he replace him and have a relationship with her.

“She told him she didn't want him to message her because she was worried and she didn't trust him.”

Mr Cobbe added: 'She explained that she and the prisoner had never had a sexual relationship of any kind.

'She accepted that she should have reported the matter, but she was in too deep and couldn't get out.'

Adam Sharp, defending, said the prisoner was known within the system as a 'particularly manipulative individual'.

He said: 'She was young, impressionable, inexperienced and vulnerable to the malign influence of the prisoner who sought to exploit her.'

However, Hibbs was jailed for six months last year and the Nursing and Midwifery Council imposed a 12-month ban on her in July following her conviction, reports the Telegraph.

Recorder for Cardiff Tracey Lloyd-Clarke told Hibbs: 'You knew what you were doing was wrong, you had training, yet you continued and formed a clearly emotional relationship with this prisoner.

'Although you were young, you held a responsible position as a nurse and as a member of the prison staff. You did not report the first contact, despite advice from a colleague and training followed.

“You initially had a flirtatious relationship, you failed to report the continued contact, and you failed to report that this inmate had an unlawful device on his person and in his custody.”

Ms Shmylo – acquitted this week of charges of misconduct in public office – said she feared reporting Pullen's manipulative behavior to her bosses because her previous attempts at whistleblowing had led to her being ostracized by colleagues.

She was fired from her job at the G4S-run Category-B HMP Parc in Bridgend and Pullen was transferred to another prison after the affair came to light.

Pullen was transferred to HMP Manchester – also known as Strangeways – and added Shmylo to his list of approved calls after she was dismissed following a trial meeting in which the provocative calls were discussed.

Prosecutor Matthew Cobbe told the court: 'She admitted during questioning that she had had phone sex with the prisoner.

'She explained that it was mainly the inmate saying things to her, noting that “I listened to most of it”.'

Ms. Shmylo and Pullen's conversations were recorded by officials; In the calls played in court, Pullen repeatedly told her, “I love you.”

Giving evidence at her own trial, the prison officer said Pullen had made several threats over time and that she had taken the calls to 'pacify' him.

She said: “He has since made several threats against me. He said he knew my address, that he would have my car blown up and that he would have my cats killed.

“I almost talked to him to calm him down because I was terrified of him.”

Lawyers acting on her behalf also said her attempts to raise awareness of corrupt officials who were mixing saliva and semen into prisoners' meals they didn't like led to her being branded 'grass'.

Claire Wilks, defending, said 'She called for a regime of corruption, she called for a regime of food manipulation. Pretty disgusting, right? The kind of thing you might see in some kind of Netflix drama.

“A 23-year-old young woman who had undergone nine weeks of training was brave enough to shout that out. And look what she got in return. She was called a grass, attacked, knocked to the ground, degraded, humiliated.

“And they expect that same person to call Harri Pullen?”

When asked by her lawyer if she got any kind of satisfaction from Pullen's calls, Shmylo said: 'No. The first time I noticed Harri masturbating, I asked him to stop. I repeatedly asked him to stop and I cried.

'It made him very angry and his exact words were: 'You're acting like I'm a bit of a nonce.'

“It was as if I had insulted him because I was crying and repeatedly saying, 'I'm not doing this, I'm not doing this.'

Shmylo, of Treforest, Pontypridd, was cleared of one charge of misconduct in public office.