A lonely prison guard who invited a ‘hot’ young prisoner over for ‘some fun’ on the day of her release and then booked a hotel for three days of booze-fuelled sex has been spared jail.
Daniel Hay, 47, started talking to convicted arsonist Sophie Stonehewer on Valentine’s Day in 2024, when he was supposed to be guarding her at Styal prison for women in Cheshire.
After telling her he didn’t have a date for tonight, She “joked” she was a sex worker and offered him “mates” rates when she was released a few weeks later, a court heard.
As her release date approached, the father of two booked time off so they could spend the weekend together.
Within hours of her release, Hay followed her further Instagramand said he would be “sad if he didn’t see your happy face most days.”
Commenting on a photo she sent him, he wrote that she looked “amazing” and “very pretty.”
When he told Mrs Stonehewer it would ‘be nice to have some fun’ as it was his birthday the next day, he asked: ‘Can I take you to Blackpool for the day?’
She agreed and saved his number under the name ‘Dave’, while Hay put hers in his phone as ‘Howard Webb’ – the name of a prominent former football referee.
The next day – Friday April 5 – he picked her up in his car, bought her Jack Daniel’s whiskey and coke and checked into a Premier Inn where they had sex.
Prison officer Daniel Hay, 47, was spared jail after inviting a troubled female prisoner for booze-fuelled sex sessions at a Premier Inn on the day of her release
Inmate Sophie Stonehewer (pictured) befriended Hay after asking him what he was doing for Valentine’s Day
Despite her licensing conditions requiring her to sleep in accommodation in Preston, Hay later spent the night with her at the hotel and then gave her £100 cash to go buy new clothes.
Ms Stonehewer was recalled to prison after telling her probation officer about the illicit affair, and Hay was arrested when he arrived for work.
Interviewed by police, Hay denied having sex with the 28-year-old, repeatedly lying that he had encountered her by accident and falsely accusing her of trying to blackmail him.
But after being confronted with hotel CCTV footage of them kissing and holding hands, plus messages they exchanged, he changed his account.
Hay – who now works as a truck driver after losing his job – was given a suspended sentence after pleading guilty to misconduct in public office.
It emerged in court that he had been given the job despite previous convictions for dangerous driving and criminal damage.
The pair first came into contact when he escorted Ms Stonehewer back from the main prison block on February 14, 2024, Chester Crown Court heard.
The prisoner who had done that earlier set fire to a friend’s house after an argument about their sex lifewas in prison for an attack on the police.
Hay (pictured on an earlier occasion leaving court) lied to police that he had encountered Stonehewer by chance and falsely accused her of trying to blackmail him
Sophie Stonehewer was ‘vulnerable’ because she had had ‘a difficult life’, including being ‘in and out of custody on a number of occasions’, Chester Crown Court heard.
She asked him something he did for Valentine’s Day, to which Hay responded that he would “spend the night alone,” prosecutor John Wyn Williams said.
“After that, she saw him several times on the prison campus and remembers saying this to him as a joke [that] “She was a mature employee and she gave him her friends’ rates when she got out,” he added.
As her release date approached, Hay suggested they go away for “a few days” and asked for her cell phone number.
Within hours of her release on April 4, he followed her on Instagram and then sent her a message saying, “I’m off from work for a while.
“It will be sad not to see your happy face most days.
“Anyway, do you feel like getting drunk somewhere? Or do you want to go to a place with a swimming pool?’
She sent him a photo of herself to which he replied, “Wow, you look amazing.” Very hot.
“It’s my birthday on Saturday, so it’ll be nice to have some fun. Can I take you to Blackpool for a day? Or should you stay in Preston?’
A judge told Hay (pictured) that he had ‘succumbed to temptation’ but decided not to jail him
Sophie Stonehewer was photographed in 2017 as she appeared in court to admit arson
“They were talking about going to Blackpool for a day and the plan was going to be a fun day out,” said Williams.
“She sent pictures of her in her underwear and he sent pictures back, albeit fully clothed.”
Hay picked her up the next morning, poured her alcohol and took her to Blackpool.
“They checked into a hotel, went to their room, put on some music, continued drinking, and it appears they had sex together and stayed in the room longer than the time Ms. Stonehewer would have been back at the approved premises,” Williams said.
‘They kept drinking. On April 6, they had sex again.
‘By this time they both knew she had breached her license by not staying in the approved premises.
“She was in danger of being arrested and recalled for a permit violation.”
The next day they had sex again after Hay took her groceries and gave them to her £100 cash to buy some clothes for herself, the court heard.
But later they started arguing, and after he gave her money to pay for the hotel room, he left.
The prosecutor said Hay would have known that Ms Stonehewer ‘vulnerable’ because he has had ‘a difficult life’, including ‘being in and out of custody a number of times’.
She confessed to the affair when she spoke to a probation officer four days later and Hay was subsequently arrested.
After initially lying that he had celebrated his birthday with friends at the time she said they were together, he admitted to the affair.
But he falsely claimed she got drunk at the hotel and assaulted him before trying to ‘blackmail’ him with photos of their encounter.
His counsel, Catherine Elvin, said: ‘This is clearly a deplorable offense borne of poor judgment and recklessness.’
She said Hay was struggling at the time after splitting from his long-term partner and had been ‘foolishly attracted to boost his own self-esteem’.
His plea was that Ms Stonehewer had assaulted him and demanded money, she added.
“This was an isolated offence, out of character for him, and clearly caused by personal issues he was having at the time.”
Hay, from Prestwich, Greater Manchester, was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for 24 months, along with a requirement to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.
Judge Steven Everett told him: “You gave in to temptation and flirted with one of the prisoners.
“You were a prison guard and she was a vulnerable victim.”
Prospective prison officials are required to disclose any prior convictions as part of the vetting process.
Having a criminal record does not necessarily mean that their application will be rejected. Instead, officials assess on a “case-by-case basis” based on when the violations occurred and how serious they were.
Hay received a community order in 2006 for his previous offending, the court heard.
