By Sheila Mckenzie-
A female prison governor has been jailed for sending Whatsapp messages to an inmate identified as James Chalmers, from Coventry.
Victoria Laithwaite(pictured) appeared at Northampton Crown Court alongside James who is convicted and sentenced to 2 years in jail for being found guilty to possess an electronic device (mobile phone) without permission and authorization.
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The sentenced prisoner James is currently 29 years of age.
Victoria Laithwaite sent messages to 30-year-old prisoner James Chalmers after problems in her marriage.
Sinjin Bulbring, prosecuting, said Chalmers’s prison cell was searched on April 7, 2021, and officers found two mobile phones, four sim cards and a memory stick. The judge said an image of Laithwaite was saved on one of the phones, with no further detail given about this.
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Mr Bulbring said one of the phones showed Whatsapp messages between the handset and a number “held by the prison as a contact number for Ms Laithwaite”. The messages were sent and received between April 4 and April 5 2021
The court heard that Laithwaite had been in contact with Chalmers over a period of three weeks from March 2021 to April 2021.
The former prison governor of HMP Olney was arrested in May 2021 following the recovery of two mobile phones, a memory stick and four sim cards from Chalmers’ cell.
A search of the illicit mobile phones and sim cards revealed WhatsApp messages and two phone calls from a number belonging to Laithwaite.
Sinjin Bulbring, prosecuting, said: “The nature of the messages are suggestive of a relationship between the two.”
Text messages – sent by Laithwaite to Chalmers – read out to the court included: “I was worried when I didn’t hear from you”, “Your mum has been worried, please message her x Please message me too x” and “I thought you ditched me. If that is the case, please say that. I would rather know,” as well as “I was thinking all sorts.”
Mr Bulbring added that there was a picture of Laithwaite on one of the illicit mobile phones.
Following Laithwate’s arrest, she gave a no comment interview to the police and she was charged with an offence under Section 44 of the Serious Crime Act 2007.
A victim personal statement read on behalf of deputy governor at HMP Olney, Samantha Halls, said that Laithwaite’s actions “damages everything the prison stands for” and has costed them “the respect of the public and the trust between staff and inmates.”
The court heard that Chalmers, when questioned by police, claimed that he used the illicit mobile phone solely to contact friends and family and denied having any contact with Laithwaite.
Chalmers has previously appeared before the court on 20 occasions and has committed a total of 46 offences dating back to 2009. These include theft, possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply, criminal damage, dangerous driving and burglary.
Sarah Allen, defending Chalmers, said that he came into possession of the mobile phone through another inmate. She said Laithwaite’s details were already on the phone and she was the one who initiated contact with Chalmers, encouraging him to send messages and pictures.
Ms Allen said: “It is quite clear from the language being used there was a degree of intimacy between them.”
Chalmers had served half of his prison sentence and was a week away from being released when interviewed about this matter and was under the impression that it would not be taken any further, the court heard.
The 29-year-old had returned home to live with his parents and children, where he started making plans for the future before his re-arrest in January 2022.
Ms Allen continued: “As a result of his foolishness, he is now on recall and will remain in prison for some time. This is a matter of deep personal regret for him and a matter he wished never happened.”
Shanice Mahmud, mitigating for Laithwaite, said she worked for Her Majesty’s prison service for more than 20 years with a “previously unblemished career.”
She added that Laithwaite, at the time of the offence, was struggling with mental health issues arising from the “sudden” death of her sister and the breakdown of her marriage.
The court heard that Laithwaite is heavily relied upon by her family as she is the “primary carer” of relatives with various health issues and an immediate prison sentence could have a “devastating” impact on them.
Ms Mahmud said: “She appears before you deeply ashamed, utterly embarrassed and regretful and ultimately is under no illusion of the severity of this case.”
As Ms Mahmud spoke, Chalmers began shaking his head and smiling in the dock. Her Honour Judge Adrienne Lucking admonished the defendant for “finding this all amusing” and warned that he would be removed from the court room if he continued.
Sentencing Laithwaite, Judge Lucking said she had “displayed a serious breach of trust in her role as prison governor”, adding that such conduct “undermined the safety and good order of Her Majesty’s prisons.”
Laithwaite was sentenced to 12 months in prison with a reduction of four months due to her guilty plea, meaning her final sentence was eight months of which she will serve half in custody.
Det Insp Dan Evans, who led the investigation carried out by the Regional Prisons Intelligence Unit of EMSOU (East Midlands Special Operations Unit), said Laithwaite had abused the position of trust and responsibility she had within the prison.
He said: “Laithwaite was a senior figure within the Prison Service, a public servant expected to behave to the highest standards, but this was serious misconduct on her part and only serves to erode confidence in the service as well as potentially undermine the complete security and good order needed to run a prison.
“Prisons are for rehabilitation, yet she willingly encouraged a prisoner to commit an offence, something which flies in the face of that. Illicit communications have the potential to seriously undermine order in a prison.
“This was a complex investigation, but working in partnership with colleagues in the Prison Service, I’m pleased we have rooted out a corrupt senior prison officer”.
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