In the summer of 2022 at HM Prison The Verne in Dorset, 26-year-old prison officer Sherry-Ann Austin-Saddington faced a fateful decision. In the prison’s day room, inmate Bradley Trengrove handed her a magazine concealing an illicit phone number. Sherry-Ann said she considered whether to report it, but ultimately did not discard the note.
This decision set off a chain of events, leading her into an unethical relationship with a convicted sex offender, ultimately making her a convicted offender herself. She stated, “This is a decision I will regret for the rest of my life.”
Between 2019 and 2024, at least 64 prison officers were recommended for dismissal over inappropriate relationships with inmates. The actual figure is higher. Female officers in particular have been implicated in relationships with high-risk male prisoners; in the past year, at least ten women have been convicted.
In Sherry-Ann’s case, she knew Trengrove was a convicted sexual offender. In 2023, she attempted to deliver a Calpol syringe to him so he could artificially impregnate her with his sperm. In February 2024, nine months after the relationship ended, she suffered a spinal stroke and became permanently paralysed from the chest down, resulting in a two-year suspended sentence.
Sherry-Ann explained that she had become a mother at 16. After work, training, and relationships, she joined the prison service in 2019. Trengrove gradually exerted influence over her—first requesting a magazine, offering praise, sending messages, and spinning false narratives under the guise of affection. Their relationship escalated, resulting in sexual activity and a miscarriage. Even after Trengrove was moved to another prison, the relationship persisted.
The prison service suffers from a severe staff shortage. Inexperienced young female officers are placed in charge of dangerous inmates. Lapses in management and supervision leave guards at risk. Sherry-Ann added that many enter the profession due to necessity, and there is insufficient oversight.
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