A female prison officer who engaged in an inappropriate relationship with an inmate has been spared a jail sentence. Megan Breen initiated the forbidden affair with a prisoner while working at the category C facility HMP Usk and nearby open prison HMP Prescoed in Gwent, South Wales. Initially denying the relationship with the unnamed inmate, the 23-year-old later confessed to her misconduct.
Breen had sexual relations with the convicted drug dealer in a hotel room after traveling 175 miles to meet him during his home release. She even met the inmate’s family during a trip to Liverpool and exchanged numerous messages with him while he was incarcerated.
Today, she received a 10-month suspended prison sentence for 18 months. During the court proceedings, Prosecutor Thomas Stanway revealed that Breen was apprehended after confiding in her colleague William Morgan about the relationship with the prisoner while displaying the inmate’s photo on a computer screen.
Breen disclosed details of her trip to Liverpool with the inmate to Morgan, stating that they had met up for drinks and stayed at a hotel together. She also mentioned that other prisoners and colleagues were aware of their relationship. Despite acknowledging the potential consequences, Breen claimed that no one would report them. However, Morgan informed prison authorities about her admission, leading to the discovery of a note with Breen’s contact information in the inmate’s cell.
Evidence from number plate recognition data showed Breen made several trips to Liverpool after the inmate’s release on license. The court learned that the inmate, nearing the end of his drug supply sentence, was working at a poultry farm and had a mobile phone. Phone records indicated significant contact between Breen and the inmate, with 558 communications exchanged.
In defense, Scott Bowen highlighted Breen’s status as a single mother, revealing that she had just discovered she was pregnant again the day before sentencing. Judge Recorder of Cardiff Tracey Lloyd-Clarke acknowledged that Breen was aware of her actions’ wrongfulness but considered the exceptional circumstances of her children relying on her, leading to the suspended sentence.
HMP Usk, a category C prison accommodating 280 inmates, operates jointly with HMP Prescoed, an open prison three miles away. The Ministry of Justice reported 19 cases of prison staff charged with misconduct in public office between 2023 and 2024, the highest in the past decade.
In recent cases, other prison officers faced legal consequences for engaging in inappropriate relationships with inmates, including Tracy Boateng and Katie Evans. Boateng was sentenced to 12 months suspended for 24 months for misconduct at HMP Pentonville, while Evans received a 21-month jail term for similar offenses. Linda De Sousa Abreu, a former HMP Wandsworth officer, was imprisoned for 15 months for engaging in sexual activities with an inmate in a cell, leading to widespread social media coverage.
