The mum’s secret behind bars romance was rumbled when the convict became ‘overprotective’ of her and began attacking other prisoners
A prison officer sent naked pictures and videos of sex acts to a serving inmate after the two formed an “intimate relationship” behind bars. Zoe Oldham also received bank transfers from a family member of the criminal in question, Lewis Smith.
But their secret romance was rumbled when he became “overprotective” of her and began attacking other prisoners whom he believed had stepped out of line with the mum. The authorities then discovered a mobile phone hidden within a sock in his cell, with more than 1,000 messages which were uncovered as a result having laid bare the true nature of their relationship.
Liverpool Crown Court heard today, Tuesday, that Oldham had been a guard at HMP Risley in Warrington for five years by 2023, when she engaged in an “intimate relationship” with Smith over the course of several months. This “included her sending images of her genitals” and money being transferred into the 29-year-old officer’s account.
Simon Christie, prosecuting, described how there was also a “strong inference that there was a sexual relationship”, although no specific acts were ultimately identified. Concerns were first raised over the two in March of that year after Smith “became overprotective over Ms Oldham and carried out assaults on prisoners who he believed had disrespected her”.
This led to a search of the 32-year-old inmate’s cell, which revealed a mobile phone hidden inside a sock. When analysed, the device was found to contain a total of 1,184 messages which had been exchanged between the couple.
Mr Christie added: “Amongst the other images found were full face images of the defendant, images of her in her underwear, images of a female masturbating with a sexual aid and images of female genitals sent to the defendant Smith. He, in return, sent topless pictures of himself. The two of them say on many occasions how much they love each other.”
Oldham, of Marlborough Road in Accrington, Lancashire, was also said to have given Smith her bank details, leading to funds of “at least” £350 being transferred into her account via his sister. She has no previous convictions.
Damian Nolan, defending, told the court: “I am probably going to concede that the gravamen in this case is the public interest in ensuring that the prison system operates in a carefully ordered way. If it does not, the ramifications can be significant.
“But this offence can be committed in a number of different ways. We would submit that, ordinarily, the courts will be particularly concerned if items were being taken in, either weapons, phones, drugs or other associated paraphernalia. Thankfully, this is not one of those cases. But what she has done is allow her office to be corrupted by, essentially, a combination of Smith’s actions and her actions.
“This is not someone who has been reckless throughout while she was a prison officer. It is asserted that, on a previous occasion, she had, in fact, reported inappropriate contact from a serving prisoner. She was commended for doing that and indicated that she would not go back on the wing until that had been dealt with.
“This all arose at a particularly vulnerable time for her personally. She is the mother of a young child. She was at a vulnerable time in her relationship with the father of her child. I am informed that, for some time, they have been back together as a couple and live together as a family. She had to move out of her own accommodation because she lost her job.
“This has been the most salutary of lessons for her. She lost this employment. She tried other employment, but that fell away when this was reported. This has, in effect, haunted her since she was first arrested.
“The first date placed on this indictment is now almost three years ago. She got subsequent employment, but social media did its best so that she had to resign from that company. She hopes that, because she did that, she can reobtain that employment. She is, at the moment, on state benefits, but she is very much keen to work and put this aberration on her otherwise exemplary character behind her.
“No one knows more than her just what a grave error of judgement she made with Smith. She has been haunted by that and will remain so. The court can mark the offence by saying, in effect, that this was worthy of a prison sentence but suspended, so that she can continue to rehabilitate.
“Obviously, there is a very stark choice. While she has had to make certain arrangements, the ideal would be that she is not separated from her young daughter. It is clear that she has learned a lesson. She will not work in the public sphere in that way again.
“The court can be satisfied that she will return to a law abiding life. She is a good mother, as all the references attest to. She wants to set good standards for her daughters. She has slipped, but that does not stop her from being a good mother.
“The ultimate sacrifice, namely going to prison immediately, in my submission, can be avoided in this case. The height of it is an intimate relationship, embarrassing to her. All of her family and everyone that she knows know what she did. Three years have passed since the commission of the offence. She has demonstrated humility about that.”
Oldham admitted one count of misconduct in a public office during an earlier hearing. Appearing in the dock wearing a brown fur coat and sporting long brown hair, she was jailed for eight months.
Sentencing, Judge David Swinnerton said: “You were, in March 2023, working as a prison officer at HMP Risley. You had been there for about five years by then. You were not a very junior officer. You had some experience.
“What was discovered upon seizing a phone found in the cell of Lewis Smith, hidden in a sock, was that you and he, he being a serving prisoner, spent some months conducting an intimate relationship. That is not to say that there was physical sexual activity between you, but the nature of your messaging was intimate and romantic. That went on for some months. This was not just a one off. You knew full well that it was wrong.
“It is a slightly double edged sword. You chose not to report the initial contact because you were not satisfied with the way that the prison service had dealt with contact from a previous prisoner. You had been trained what the right thing to do was.
“You must have known how undermining it is of prison discipline if officers have relationships like this with prisoners. You are not only letting down the public, who place trust in those that are employed as prison officers, but you also badly let down your colleagues. It makes their lives more difficult and risky when prisoners are able to manipulate officers.
“You did not take anything into the prison for him. If you had, your position would have been much, much worse. But you made yourself very, very vulnerable. You accepted money from him. Two separate sums of money were transferred to your account by his sister, you having provided a serving prisoner with your bank account details.
“If you had stopped for a moment to think, you would have realised just how foolish that was, just how vulnerable that made you and just how vulnerable that made the security and safety of the prison. With relationships like this, there might be a risk that you will be leant upon, even blackmailed. You knew full well, throughout the months that this went on, that this was wrong.
“The authorities make clear that punishment and deterrents are always very important elements in such cases. Really, the cases where suspension is justified are exceptional.
“You are of previous good character. This began at least three years ago and ended two-and-a-half years ago now. In that time, you lost your job as a prison officer. You sought other employment, which you lost after publicity about what you have done. But you have stayed out of trouble. You have tried to work and continued to look after your daughter.
“It is an important factor, of course, that you have a now five-year-old daughter that you are the primary carer for, albeit you are now living at your father’s house with him and her father. You do not present a high risk of reoffending
“Immediate custody will result in a significant harmful impact on others. You have a dependant child, albeit she can stay where she is and has her father and grandfather with her. But I have to weigh against that the seriousness of the offending.
“I have taken the view that appropriate punishment can only be met by immediate custody. Prison officers have to realise that they cannot form these inappropriate relationships. It carried on for months. You won’t be away for very long, but the punishment is going away at all. The message is that immediate imprisonment follows, almost always, in cases of this nature.”
Smith, of Abbey Hey Lane in Gorton, Manchester, was handed a further eight months imprisonment by the same court in December last year. He pleaded guilty possession of a mobile phone in a prison and possession of a class C drug in a prison, the latter count relating to anabolic steroids which he was found with while serving at HMP Wymott in Lancashire.