An explosive video of a female prison officer having sex with an inmate in a cell sent shockwaves across the country, with many unable to believe the levels of deviancy.
The officer in question, Linda De Sousa Abreu, has now been jailed for 15 months after the clip filmed inside HMP Wandsworth, in South London, went viral. The mother-of-one, from Fulham, South West London, was arrested and pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office at Isleworth Crown Court in July last year. Returning to the court this Monday, she was told she would serve half her time in custody and the rest on licence.
Judge Martin Edmunds KC told De Sousa Abreu, 34: “You engaged in sexual activity with a prisoner. That compromised your role as an officer, and was misconduct which undermines discipline within the prison, and puts fellow officers at increased risk. You knew that conduct was forbidden and forbidden for good reason.”
Linda De Sousa Abreu’s wild life before prison romp including swingers TV show
The disgraced prison officer admitted to further sexual encounters with the same inmate ahead of her sentencing
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The bombshell court cause heard how the prison officer agreed to take part in sexual activity with Linton Weirich in his cell on June 25 last year, with a second prisoner filming it while appearing to smoke cannabis. That prisoner sent the video to a friend who shared it on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Suggesting that it wasn’t an isolated incident, De Sousa Abreu also asked Judge Edmunds to consider two further offences – one being sexual activity with the same prisoner earlier that day and the other being a separate sexual encounter with Weirich within at least three to four days of the main offence.
Furthermore, once the footage appeared online, the court heard how her fellow female officers were bombarded with abuse and sexual propositions from other inmates. Victim impact statements from the employees said they were seen as ‘fair game’ because of De Sousa Abreu’s actions and that their children have been subjected to teasing at school over what their mothers may do at work.
“The consequence of the recording going viral, a result that you did not intend but which was certainly a consequence of your offence, has been that prison officers have faced heckling and harassment,” said Judge Edmunds. “They have been confronted with sexualised images falsely suggesting that your conduct is typical. Children of your fellow female prison officers have been teased as to what their mothers may do at work.
“It is inevitable that the damage for which you were responsible at Wandsworth has spread, to some degree, through the prison estate.”
After the footage went public, the shamed prison officer attempted to flee to Madrid and Madeira – where she had family – to wait for things to ‘calm down’. However, De Sousa Abreu, who is said to have a history of poor mental health and a history of trauma, was instead arrested at Heathrow Airport after notifying the prison of her travel plans.
While the video gave a shocking insight into life inside Wandsworth Prison, a Prison Service spokesperson said a ‘small minority’ of staff who offend would be met with ‘robust action. “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,” they said on Monday.
“As today’s sentencing demonstrates, where officers do fall below our high standards we won’t hesitate to take robust action.”