A former prison officer who smuggled mobile phones into a convicted murderer's cell to maintain a relationship with him has been jailed for eight months. Olivia Hodgson, 26, began a relationship with inmate Lavarne Forde-Morgan while working at HMP Garth in Lancashire in early 2020.
In January 2021, Forde-Morgan was transferred to another prison, where a mobile phone was discovered during a cell search following intelligence. Analysis revealed contact with another phone linked to Hodgson. She was arrested at HMP Garth on 30 July 2021, and a search of her home uncovered a phone containing images of the pair and a birthday card with Forde-Morgan's fingerprints.
At Burnley Crown Court, Hodgson, of Hawthorn Road, Preston, admitted misconduct in a public office and was sentenced to eight months. Forde-Morgan, serving a sentence for murder and firearms offences, admitted possessing prohibited phones and received an additional 18 months.
Detective Constable Becky Pearson of the North-West Regional Organised Crime Unit's Prison Anti-Corruption Unit said: 'Olivia abused her position as a prison officer by choosing to have an inappropriate relationship with an inmate. She acted in a calculated manner using various numbers, phones and chat applications to evade detection.'
