G4S prison officer started text affair with inmate using phone he hid in cell

A G4S prison officer started a text affair with an inmate by sending him messages on a secret mobile phone, a court heard.

Shauna Cleary, 25, sparked a personal relationship with Kurt Jarman while working at HM Parc prison in Bridgend, south Wales, which is privately-operated by the security firm.

Jarman, 22, was serving a 10-year sentence for attacking a 77-year-old man with a Stanley knife having forced his way into the pensioner's house in 2015.

Cardiff Crown Court heard Cleary gave her number to the prisoner and sent him messages on a contraband phone he had hidden in his cell.

Prosecutor Joanna James said analysis revealed Jarman called Cleary in August last year, which was the catalyst for the relationship "gaining momentum".

Cleary sent the prisoner two messages on October 1 but the content was not known. She was later arrested and her phone and laptop were seized.

The court heard she had been working at G4S-run HM Parc Prison in Bridgend, south Wales, from August 2016 to November 2017.

Jarman was jailed in March 2016 and was sent to HM Parc - a category B prison near the M4.

Sentencing, Judge Williams said the G4S prison officer had been "terribly compromised and vulnerable to being manipulated".

Cleary, from Pontypridd, south Wales, admitted misconduct in public office and was given a 16-week suspended prison sentence.

She was also ordered to complete 15 days of rehabilitation activity as part of her punishment.

Jarman was jailed in 2016 after he threatened to kill a pensioner and cut his neck with a knife having broken into his house.

During a three-hour attack, the 22-year-old amateur rugby player ransacked his victim's house, eventually marched him to a cash dispenser having  demanded £5,000.

Jarman was drunk when he forced his way into the house in Machynlleth, Powys, and punched the 77-year-old to the floor.

The judge also sentenced Jarman, and after he admitted possessing a mobile phone inside prison, he was sentenced to a further six months.