Prison officer jailed for relationship with convicted murderer

A prison officer has been jailed for one year and four months after she entered into a relationship with a convicted murderer serving a lengthy sentence at a maximum security prison.

Rebecca Green, aged 29, was employed at HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire when she began a romantic involvement with inmate John Otugade in October 2022. Otugade is serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 25 years for his crime.

During the spring of 2023, suspicions were raised about Green's conduct and she was called into a formal meeting. She initially refuted the allegations made against her, but Otugade was moved to HMP Belmarsh in South East London while investigations took place.

Officers searched Green's car and seized her mobile phone, which contained messages indicating she was in a relationship with the prisoner. Otugade had also secured a number on his approved contacts list within the prison under the name "partner". The number was subsequently identified as matching Green's telephone.

Green, from Market Rasen Way in Holbeach, Lincolnshire, pleaded guilty to the charge of misconduct in a public office at an earlier court hearing. She received a sentence of one year and four months in prison at Cambridge Crown Court on June 24.

Detective Constable Tom Adams, who led the investigation, commented. "As a prison officer you have a responsibility to keep prisoners and your colleagues safe. This was a serious breach of Green's responsibilities and she failed to consider the potential impact on the security and safety of the staff and prisoners and how her actions undermined the work of the prison. This sentence shows how seriously the police and courts take such breaches."