A former prison officer has been sent to prison herself after her own body-worn video camera captured her performing a sex act on a serving inmate in a jail store cupboard.
A 'Clumsy Mistake' Uncovers the Offence
Rebecca Pinckard, 46, from Six Mile Bottom in Cambridgeshire, was jailed for 32 weeks at Cambridge Crown Court after admitting to misconduct in a public office. The court heard that the mother-of-one's illicit encounter with convicted drug dealer Erion Nakdi, 42, was discovered purely by chance. Another officer, reviewing body-worn camera footage for evidence, stumbled upon two video clips filmed five minutes apart on Pinckard's own device on 5 July 2024.
Judge Anthony Cartin stated that the offending was "only discovered because of a clumsy mistake". He revealed, "An officer gathering evidence found evidence from your camera. Your camera had been activated during the intimate encounter." The incident took place inside a store cupboard at HMP Highpoint in Suffolk.
A 'Moment of Madness' and a Pattern of Behaviour
In mitigation, Pinckard's defence barrister, Juliet Donovan, described the act as a "moment of madness" and insisted it was "not a relationship". The court was told Pinckard had been going through a difficult period after ending a 19-year relationship. However, the judge countered that the offence was not isolated, noting it had continued over months.
This was supported by evidence that Pinckard had sent Nakdi, an Albanian national, a 'loving' Moonpig card on 10 April 2024 to cheer him up after he had problems with his girlfriend. Furthermore, sexual videos of Nakdi in his prison cell were recovered from Pinckard's mobile phone, which the prosecution said were filmed in prison and sent via social media messaging. Pinckard failed to report receiving these videos.
The court also heard that Pinckard had been given a formal warning in October 2023 for being 'overfamiliar' with prisoners. Ms Donovan explained that Pinckard's habit of "giving out cakes and sweets" to inmates was a naive attempt to make their lives better.
Sentencing and Consequences
Jailing Pinckard, Judge Cartin emphasised that her "conduct diminishes the public confidence in the criminal justice system". Pinckard wiped tears from her eyes during the sentencing hearing before being led to the cells.
Her co-defendant, Erion Nakdi, admitted to the unauthorised possession of a mobile phone in prison between 2 and 6 July 2024. Appearing via video link, he was sentenced to 10 months in prison, to run consecutively to his existing 16-year, three-month sentence for conspiracy to supply class A drugs, imposed at Luton Crown Court in 2022. His defence described the phone as a "pool phone" and called the case a "tragic case of an emotional attraction between two people".
