Prison officer jailed after ‘sneaking into cupboard’ with inmate she was ‘in love with’

The Doncaster woman was jailed over her 'physical and romantic relationship' with a prisoner.

The Doncaster woman was jailed over her 'physical and romantic' relationship with a prisoner.

Morgan Farr Varney began the relationship while she was working at HMP Lindholme.

A CCTV review took place after colleagues grew suspicious.

This caught the prison officer slipping away into a cupboard with the male prisoner.

The footage also showed her lingering with him in one of the building's wings.

This led to the inmate's cell being searched, which found a batch of sentimental letters.

Additionally, more discoveries were made in Farr Varney's home.

The findings led to her being apprehended under allegations of misconduct in public office in January 2023.

Farr Varney was previously featured on ITV's This Morning voicing grievances against an online dentistry firm.

She admitted during questioning that she 'proper fell in love' with the convict, as well as expressing her fear of her life being "f****d" up by the affair.

After being released on bail, she resigned from her role and the inmate involved was relocated to another institution.

Despite these measures, the couple maintained contact.

Subsequent investigations found the prisoner had further images of Farr Varney in his possession after moving to HMP Wealstun in West Yorkshire. 

According to The Mirror, Farr Varney plead guilty to misconduct in public office on April 16 last year, and was taken into custody.

She was sentenced to 10 months in prison.

The officer in charge of the case, DC Scott Jarvis, stressed the seriousness of such conduct: "We take any reports of improper relationships between prison staff and inmates incredibly seriously and conduct thorough investigations to ensure those who are guilty of these offences are brought to justice."

He acknowledged the rarity of such affairs, however he highlighted the damage they cause to prison service's standing: "These types of relationships are thankfully rare, but when they do happen, they threaten to undermine the reputation of the prison service and other hard-working prison officers who abide by the rules and regulations attached to the job."

"I hope this sentencing sends out a clear message to any prison officers thinking of committing similar offences that if you engage in this type of criminality, you will be investigated by police and you will be brought to justice," he concluded.