Senior prison officer admits inappropriate relationship with inmate

A senior prison officer is facing jail after she admitted having a fling with an inmate.

Tracy Boateng, 26, was said to have ‘abused the public’s trust’ during her inappropriate relationship with Vincent Ojo at HMP Pentonville between February 25 and April 19 last year.

She appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Thursday where she admitted to a single charge of misconduct in a public office.

Evidence against Boateng includes body worn camera footage showing interactions between her and Ojo, the court heard.

Pentonville is a category B men’s prison in Islington, north London.

Boateng, of Dagenham, was granted unconditional bail to appear at the same court for sentencing on May 12.

The senior prison officer missed a previous hearing at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court last month because she was giving birth, her solicitor said.

Earlier this year, former HMP Wandsworth prison officer Linda De Sousa Abreu, 30, was jailed for 15 months after having sex with an inmate in a cell.

Footage of the of the activity was widely shared on social media.

A Prison Service spokesperson said at the time: ‘While the overwhelming majority of Prison Service staff are hardworking and honest, we’re catching more of the small minority who break the rules by bolstering our Counter Corruption Unit and strengthening our vetting processes.’

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