Prison tutor jailed after sending explicit love letters to inmate
Prison tutor was found ‘flustered and alone’ with inmate in locked room
- Melissa Murphy, a former prison tutor, has been jailed for eight months for misconduct in a public office after engaging in an inappropriate relationship with an inmate at HMP Chelmsford.
- Handwritten letters from Murphy containing 'explicit romantic and sexual content' were discovered in the prisoner's cell, and a photograph of the inmate was found at her home.
- Murphy was found alone with the inmate in a locked room, appearing 'flustered', after requesting he be brought to a workshop despite no scheduled class.
- She admitted during a disciplinary interview to writing love letters and locking herself in a workshop with the inmate, though she denied any physical relationship.
- Judge Jamie Sawyer stated that Murphy abused her position of trust, undermining public confidence in the prison system, and she will serve up to 40 per cent of her sentence in custody.