Katie Evans: Love letters and phone calls with inmate landed prison officer behind bars

Katie Evans’ secret “intimate” relationship with an inmate she met at HMP Doncaster was discovered after she boasted to an ex-prison officer that she had performed a sex act on the prisoner.

An investigation into her dealings with Daniel Brownley established that there had been more than 140 phone calls with him, Evans had moved money around bank accounts for him, and she had supplied him with information the prison held on him.

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The investigation was carried out by South Yorkshire Police’s ‘Prison Anti-Corruption Unit’.

Evans, who worked as a prison officer at HMP Doncaster between March 2020 and November 2020, pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office after admitting to starting a relationship with an inmate at the Category B men's prison.

She was jailed this week for 21 months.

The investigation into the disgraced prison officer’s actions led officers to a contraband SIM card which Brownley was using to communicate with her.

Analysis of phone conversations between the pair revealed the extent of their relationship, with Evans ringing his number 39 times in one 11-hour period alone.

Some of their calls lasted as long as 49 minutes and a search of Evans' home also found love letters between the pair.

During their relationship, Evans' lover was transferred to another prison, at which point he absconded to meet her for an intimate encounter.

Detective Constable Scott Jarvis, of the Prison Anti-Corruption Unit and the officer in charge of the case, said: "The team gathered a significant amount of evidence confirming Evans' criminality meaning she had no choice but to plead guilty to the misconduct offence.

"Improper relationships between prison staff and inmates are rare but when they do come to light, we take these offences incredibly seriously.

"This kind of behaviour brings shame on the profession and taints the reputation of other hard-working prison officers who uphold the highest standards of professionalism, morality and service.

"People like Evans who undermine public trust while holding positions of authority will be dealt with by the full force of the law and I hope today's sentencing sends out a clear warning message to those who may seek to commit similar crimes.

"I would like to thank staff at HMP Doncaster and Serco for cooperating with our investigation and again, just want to reassure the public that we will take action against those committing misconduct in a public office."

A spokesperson for Serco, the firm which runs the prison, said: “We have a zero-tolerance approach to any member of staff who fails to meet the standards we expect and on those rare occasions when one of our officers falls short of the required standards, we work closely with the police to investigate the issue fully and when necessary take appropriate action.”