Two female prison workers who had fling with Casanova crook

28 March 2024 , 11:41

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Aleesha Bates received a two-year and eight-month sentence for misconduct

Two female prison guards who each had an affair with the same inmate have now been sentenced for misconduct.

Aleesha Bates, 29, and Jodie Wilkes, 27, were sleeping with the same drug trafficker at the same time while working at HMP Buckley Hall in Rochdale. At court, both pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office.

At Bolton Crown Court yesterday, Bates was hit with a two-year and eight-month custodial sentence. Wilkes' sentence was 12 months but suspended for two years. At the time of Bates' affair with the lag in December 2019, she was a prison officer.

The inmate, who has only been identified by his crime, was sent explicit messages and nude photos while he was jailed for drug trafficking. Wilkes, who was an operational support grade (OSG) at the time, was also having sex with him in the same two-month period after starting her affair in April 2020.

Jodie Wilkes was sentenced to 12 months but suspended for two years

After scouring the prisoner's cell, guards discovered a mobile phone which detailed the extent of the romances. In one text, Bates said: "I want you 24/7. I can’t get enough of you. If I had it my way I would be on the phone to you every single moment."

'I ventured into Alcatraz after dark and was terrified by what I saw and heard'

She denied the pair had any physical sexual contact. However, messages also revealed the prisoner threatened Bates after she borrowed money from him and his family, reports the Daily Star.

One suggested that if she failed to return the money, he would "send two people to her house to smash her head in." Bates later told police she was manipulated by the prisoner and then "fell in love".

Bob Elias, defending, said the prisoner had been a "seducer" and had a reputation that needed to be taken into account.

Wilkes admitted she had engaged in "an improper association" and said she was not "manipulated" by her prison lover. Judge Elliot Knopf said the gross breach of trust had reached its "ultimate level" when Bates engaged with her locked-up lover.

He said: "Yes, you were ensnared [by the prisoner] but he identified you as someone who could be approached and you did not have to accept that approach."

Lizzie McAllister