Female prison guard spared jail after having an affair and a baby with inmate

A female prison guard has narrowly avoided jail after having an intimate relationship with a prisoner.

Rachel Stanton, 31, had a relationship with Edwin Poole who was serving a 10-and-a-half-year sentence in HMP Five Wells, Wellingborough, for his role in a four-day stint of violent armed robberies.

The court heard how CCTV picked up on the mum-of-five going into a prison storeroom with Poole for an hour of "intimacy."

Following the discovery of the relationship in July 2022, Stanton was suspended and Poole was moved to another prison. Stanton continued to visit him and they went on to have a baby together but have since split up.

On Tuesday (23 July), Judge David Herbert KC said: "You should have known better. Your offending is so serious it demands a custodial sentence. I have to sentence you for a single offence. In short, you had a relationship with a prisoner."

Edwin Poole, who was an inmate at HMP Five Wells, Wellingborough.West Midlands Police

He continued: "There was clear undisputable evidence between you that was discovered. They found a sexually explicit letter and some intimate images of yourself. CCTV footage shows the two of you together and you were in a room privately, together. Some intimacy must have taken place.

"She should have known what the boundaries were. It shouldn’t take training to know she shouldn’t be doing that."

The Judge said he was satisfied that the relationship was "entirely consensual."

"If you can stay out of trouble you have nothing to fear but it will be hanging over your head – work hard at the order," he added.

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