A prison officer who sent an X-rated Valentine's card to a convicted sex offender has been jailed for six months over her secret affair. Livvy Edney, 44, declared her love for inmate Paul Young in secret telephone calls after she began working at HMP Channings Wood in Devon, where he was held.
The couple would read poetry to each other and discussed plans for a trip to Venice once he was freed. Exeter Crown Court heard that Edney started working at the prison in 2020 and began the relationship with Young in November 2022 after becoming his supervisor.
Relationship Uncovered
Prison authorities became suspicious, and Young was transferred to another jail in January 2023. However, Edney used two pay-as-you-go mobile phones, registered a false name, and gave an address of a relative of Young to the prison authorities to maintain contact after his transfer. In recorded telephone calls, they declared their love for each other, with Young reading out poetry he had written for Edney.
Edney was arrested at her home in March 2023. During police interviews, she denied any relationship with Young or knowledge of the two mobile phones found at her home. A search of Young's cell uncovered letters, notes, and a Valentine's card from Edney.
The Valentine's Card
The card depicted two penguins and contained a sexually intimate message: "Happy Valentine’s my love, the first of many. Roses are red, violets are blue, I’ll make you scream when I put my strap-on inside you. Love from your Valentine." Young was serving a sentence of imprisonment for public protection after being convicted of sexual assault.
Lee Brembridge, defending, urged the court to impose a suspended prison sentence, noting that the mother-of-three had since remarried, had a full-time job, and was unlikely to reoffend. He said: "She is not the youngest prison officer, but there is a degree of inexperience... Her vulnerabilities are very personal to her, which started in her childhood and continued in a 20-year relationship with her ex-husband."
Edney, of Grenville Avenue, Torquay, admitted misconduct in public office. Sentencing, Judge James Patrick said Edney was fully aware of the importance of maintaining boundaries with prisoners. He noted that Young had had a relationship with another officer in the past, which intrigued Edney, and that the relationship became closer over time.
"The prison authorities were concerned about you and your closeness with him and as a result he was transferred to another prison. That should have served as a warning, but it did not," the judge said. "You then started to set about making contact with him using subterfuge, pretending to be somebody else, and using disguised telephone numbers."
Detective Sergeant Will Martel of the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit said: "Edney went to significant lengths to conceal the relationship, knowing that it was a serious breach of her position. Corruption will not be tolerated within our prisons."
