Prison Officer Jailed for Sex with Inmate
A former prison officer is jailed for 3½ years after having sex with inmates and plotting to smuggle drugs, shocking the HMP Coldingley and Swaleside prisons.
A former prison officer has been jailed for having romantic relationships with two inmates and plotting to smuggle drug-filled envelopes into prison.
A judge said Isabel Del had pledged "undying love" to prisoners Shahid Sharif and Connor Money while working at HMP Coldingley in Surrey.
Her trial heard that Del, 23, had sex with convicted robber Sharif in the prison's chapel area.
She became engaged to Sharif and later conspired with him and his partner Lily Salis to smuggle Spice, a synthetic cannabinoid, into HMP Swaleside in Kent.
Del was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for two counts of misconduct in a public office and one count of conspiracy to supply a List A article into a prison.
Sharif, who is already in custody, and Salis were also sentenced to 27 months and two and a half years respectively for the same offences.
'She wanted to do it'
Sentencing the trio at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday, Judge Christopher Hehir described Del as a "thoroughly dishonest, deceitful and manipulative young woman".
He said he accepted she had "some vulnerabilities" but that she had tried to use them as a "shield and an excuse" for her actions.
The judge added that he suspected she had "joined the prison service with the intention of engaging in criminal activity with prisoners".
"She wanted to do it," he said. "She is a thrill-seeker."
Del, from Portsmouth, began working at HMP Coldingley in September 2021 – her first and only posting.
The court heard that by January she had "at least some contact" with Sharif and by May the pair were engaged. Defending Dale, Siam Soni said her crimes were influenced by her mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, emotionally unstable personality disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Software Services
 |
Launch your own casino platform today — get started now |
She claimed Dale was "not properly equipped" for the prison environment and was more vulnerable than others.
Judge Hehir said that at the time, Sharif was serving a sentence of 12 years and 10 months for "a highly violent robbery of a jeweller on the south coast".
He added that other prison officers "clearly knew what was going on".
'Completely corrupt'
Following the incident at Chappell, Sharif was transferred to Swaleside Prison and Dale took sick leave on reduced pay.
The court heard that Dale visited him five times between September and October 2022, sometimes with family members.
The judge said she had added herself to his approved visitor list by concealing her job role.
He added that Dale had demonstrated she had become "completely corrupt" when she tried to persuade Sharif's sister to bring a USB stick into the prison for him, although the sister refused.
Dale – who was found to have Sharif's street name tattooed on her neck – resigned from her prison officer post before her sixth visit, after which she was arrested.
The court heard that Dale had also provided sensitive information to Money, with whom she also had an intimate relationship.
A postal strike thwarted a plan by Dale, Sharif and Sallis to bring envelopes soaked in spice into Swaleside Prison on the Isle of Sheppey.
The court heard that arrangements had been made for Dale to travel to Brighton to meet Sallis and collect the envelopes. However, the judge said that Salis backed out due to a dispute with Sharif over prices and the content being posted about him on social media.
Sharif had claimed in messages that he could earn £3,000 a week selling spices inside the prison, a claim the judge considered likely exaggerated.
Thank you for reading this content.
Thank you for reading this content.
What's Your Reaction?
Like
0
Dislike
0
Love
0
Funny
0
Angry
0
Sad
0
Wow
0
