A former prison custody officer has been jailed after starting a relationship with an inmate.
Jade Morris, 37, of Holmer, Hereford, was sentenced to 12 months in prison at Birmingham Crown Court today (Friday).
The sentence was handed down after she was convicted of misconduct in a public office and encouraging prisoner Jerome Nunes to use a prohibited device.
The relationship came to light in October 2022 when a mobile phone was found after being thrown from a prison window in Long Lartin prison near Evesham.
Evidence later revealed that Morris and Nunes had been in regular contact over a six-month period between July 2022 and January 2023.
Georgina Davies, a senior crown prosecutor from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Prison officers hold positions of significant trust and responsibility.
“The public are entitled to expect that those working within the prison system will act with integrity and always maintain clear professional boundaries.
“This case involved a sustained and deliberate breach of that trust.
“Jade Morris knew that prisoners should not have access to mobile phones yet chose to engage in a prolonged relationship with Nunes, directly facilitating his criminal offending and undermining the security of the prison in which she worked.
“The Crown Prosecution Service worked closely with the police to build a case which reflected the seriousness of this misconduct, leaving both defendants no option but to plead guilty.
“We hope this case sends a clear message that those who abuse positions of public trust will be held to account.”
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Nunes, 35, previously from Newport, South Wales, pleaded guilty at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on February 10, 2026, to two offences under the Prison Act 1952 for possessing and using an unauthorised mobile phone.
He was sentenced to nine months.
Morris, of Herefordshire, was convicted of misconduct in a public office, contrary to common law, and assisting or encouraging the commission of a Prison Act offence, contrary to sections 45 and 58 of the Serious Crime Act 2007.
Nunes was convicted of transmitting or causing the transmission of an image or sound from a prison without authority, and possessing a mobile phone inside a prison without authority, both contrary to section 40D of the Prison Act 1952.
