A former prison officer has been sentenced to jail after her own body-worn video equipment recorded her engaging in a sexual act with a serving inmate at a Suffolk prison.
Intimate Encounter in a Store Cupboard
Rebecca Pinckard, 46, from Six Mile Bottom in Cambridgeshire, admitted misconduct in a public office at Cambridge Crown Court. The court heard she had an "intimate encounter" with prisoner Erion Nakdi, 42, inside a store cupboard at HMP Highpoint on 5 July 2024.
The incident was discovered when another officer, reviewing body-worn camera evidence, found two video clips filmed five minutes apart on Pinckard's own camera. Prosecutor Gavin Burrell presented the footage, which clearly showed the sex act.
A Relationship That Spanned Months
Judge Anthony Cartin emphasised that the offence was not isolated. The misconduct had continued for several months and included Pinckard sending Nakdi a Moonpig greeting card on 10 April 2024.
Further evidence revealed that sexual videos of Nakdi in his cell were recovered from Pinckard's mobile phone. These were believed to have been filmed inside the prison and sent via social media messaging. The judge noted Pinckard never reported receiving these videos and the phone used to film them was never found.
Sentencing and Mitigation
On Friday, 16 January 2026, Pinckard was sentenced to 32 weeks in prison. Judge Cartin stated her conduct "diminishes the public confidence in the criminal justice system" and noted the discovery was due to a "clumsy mistake."
In mitigation, Juliet Donovan described it as a "moment of madness" for Pinckard, who had recently ended a 19-year relationship and faced a difficult home life. Donovan claimed Pinckard sent the Moonpig card because Nakdi was having girlfriend problems and she wanted to cheer him up.
The court also heard Pinckard had received a prior warning in October 2023 for being "overfamiliar" with prisoners, which included giving them cakes and sweets.
Erion Nakdi, an Albanian national serving a 16-year sentence for drug offences, admitted to the unauthorised possession of a mobile phone in prison. He was given an additional 10-month sentence, to run consecutively to his existing term.
