A record number of female prison guards were fired for having sex with male inmates in the past three years – with 29 given the sack.
The figure compares to just nine who lost their jobs for the same offence between 2017 and 2019.
Some of the prison guards had even cut holes in their uniforms to make sexual acts easier, The Sun has reported.
New figures from the Ministry of Justice show that a shocking fifty out of 124 investigations into ‘inappropriate relationships’ in Britain’s jails were upheld.
Some of the prison guards involved were not fired and instead suspended to moved into a different role.
The huge rise in figures comes as a married HMP Wandsworth prison officer who had sex with an inmate on video accused prisoners of blackmailing her into filming the x-rated clip.
Linda De Sousa Abreu, 30, admitted having sex with serial burglar Linton Weirich in his cell at the scandal-hit jail – but says she only agreed to take part after lags threatened to expose her career as an amateur porn star.
Linda De Sousa Abreu, 30, was filmed having sex with serial burglar Linton Weirich in his cell at HMP Wandsworth
She said she only agreed to take part after lags threatened to expose her career as an amateur porn star
Pictured: The outside of HMP Wandsworth in London
De Sousa Abreu, who claims she has since ‘found faith in God’, pleaded guilty to one count of misconduct in a public office at a hearing at Isleworth Crown Court on Monday.
Close friend Hayley, who only wanted to give her first name, told MailOnline that the circumstances surrounding the incident will become public when De Sousa returns to court for sentencing in November.
She said: ‘There’s a lot more to this story than people think. Some of the prisoners had got hold of Linda’s personal details.
‘They knew her address, her husband’s name and that she had an OnlyFans account. She was put under a lot of pressure and there was a lot of coercion involved.’
Hayley continued: ‘Linda was going through a very hard time at work because of all this. And she was also having problems in her marriage.
‘She’s absolutely devastated by what happened and is full of remorse. It’s absolutely devastated her and she’s trying to rebuild her life.’
De Sousa Abreu lives on a sprawling council estate in Fulham near where Weirich grew up.
Hayley added: ‘It wasn’t hard for the other prisoners to get Linda’s details and find out things about her personal life.’
De Sousa Abreu, who holds Portuguese citizenship, is still married to her husband with whom she shares an eight-year-old daughter.
Linda De Sousa Abreu (right) had sex with an inmate on video in HMP Wandsworth
She was filmed on a mobile phone having sex with prisoner Linton Weirich (pictured)
De Sousa Abreu (pictured in a court artist sketch) pleaded guilty to one count of misconduct in a public office and was bailed ahead of her sentencing in November
Hayley said: ‘They’re a lovely couple and working hard to save their marriage. It’s not been easy for them. People are trying to make out that Linda is some kind of sex monster but that’s not the case at all.
‘She is a very kind and caring person who has made a terrible mistake. We all get things wrong in life and people shouldn’t be so quick to judge her.’
The encounter on June 27 was filmed by another inmate and went viral on social media. MailOnline later revealed that De Sousa Abreu has appeared on TV swinging programs and has an OnlyFans account.
She was subsequently identified by HMP Wandsworth staff and was arrested by the Metropolitan Police at Heathrow Airport attempting to fly to Madrid.
And previously prison guards Aleesha Bates, 30, was sentenced to two years, eight months in jail and Jodie Wilkes, 27, given a 12-month suspended sentence for a three-way intimate relationship with an inmate at HMP Buckley Hall in Rochdale.
Bates was first to strike up a relationship with the man, who had been jailed for drugs trafficking offences, Bolton Crown Court heard earlier this year.
She became ‘completely infatuated’ with him, sent him X-rated messages and naked photos of herself, and even planned for a future together for them once he’d been released.
Operational support grade (OSG ) Wilkes did not accept she had engaged in a relationship with the prisoner, who had a ‘track record’ of befriending female prison staff, but had engaged in ‘an improper association’ with him.
Prison officer Bates (pictured) was first to strike up a relationship with the man, who had been jailed for drugs trafficking offences, Bolton Crown Court heard
Operational support grade (OSG ) Wilkes (pictured) did not accept she had engaged in a relationship with the prisoner, who had a ‘track record’ of befriending female prison staff
Bates was questioned but initially denied having a relationship with the man while Wilkes admitted giving him her number and contacting him – and both subsequently resigned
Brian Berlyne, prosecuting, said Bates’s relationship with the man, which she conducted between December 2019 and June 2020, came to light after prison authorities received information they had become ‘close’.
He was a prisoner on the wing where she was stationed and when his cell was searched a mobile phone was found concealed in a stereo.
Mr Berlyne said phone records showed contact between the man and Bates along with photos of them together and ‘sexually explicit messages’ they’d exchanged.
The phone records also showed the prisoner had been in contact with Wilkes.
Both women were arrested in June 2020 and their phones were seized by police.
MailOnline has contacted the Ministry of Justice for comment.
