Linda De Sousa Abreu, a prison officer at HMP Wandsworth in South London, admitted to misconduct in a public office after being filmed having sex with an inmate.
The incident occurred on June 27, when De Sousa Abreu, 30, entered a prisoner’s cell while on duty and engaged in sexual activity, which was recorded by another inmate and quickly went viral on social media.
The video led to her identification by HMP Wandsworth staff and she was arrested by the Metropolitan Police at Heathrow Airport. As De Sousa Abreu attempted to flee to Madrid, she called the prison to resign and stated that her husband would return her work equipment.
She was granted conditional bail and is scheduled to appear in court again on November 7.
De Sousa Abreu, a Fulham resident, pleaded guilty to the charge at Isleworth Crown Court. The prosecution argued that she abused her position as a prison officer to engage in sexual conduct with an inmate, constituting wilful misconduct in a public office.
Tetteh Turkson of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) described the incident as a “shocking breach of the public’s trust.” He emphasised that De Sousa Abreu was an “enthusiastic participant” in the misconduct and that the evidence against her was overwhelming, leaving her “no option but to accept she was guilty.”
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