Prison officer Olivia Hodgson jailed over relationship with murderer inmate

A former prison officer has been jailed after having a relationship with an inmate who was incarcerated for murder.

Olivia Hodgson, of Hawthorn Road, Preston, had been working at HMP Garth in Leyland since 2017.

She started a relationship with the prisoner Lavarne Forde-Morgan in early 2020.

A court heard how she used mobile phones she had smuggled into prison to communicate with him.

In January 2021, Forde-Morgan was transferred to another prison, where he was subjected to a cell search following intelligence received to the prison.

A mobile phone was recovered and analysis evidenced that he had been in touch with another mobile number, later found to belong to Hodgson, 26.

In July 2021 she was arrested at HMP Garth and her home address was searched. Officers seized another mobile phone which contained images of the pair, as well as a birthday card addressed to Olivia which had Forde-Morgan's fingerprints on.

Forde-Morgan, who is currently serving a sentence for murder and possessing a shotgun and firearm with intent to endanger life, admitted to possessing prohibited mobile phones and was jailed for an additional 18 months.

Hodgson was sentenced at Burnley Crown Court to eight months imprisonment for misconduct in a public office.

Detective Constable Becky Pearson from the North-West Regional Organised Crime Unit’s Prison Anti-Corruption Unit, said: "Olivia abused her position as a prison officer by choosing to have an inappropriate relationship with an inmate and she will now have to face the consequences of her actions.

"She acted in a calculated manner using a variety of numbers, phones and chat applications to try and evade detection.

"In doing so, she was able to continue the relationship with Forde-Morgan despite him moving to another prison.

"Olivia knew right from wrong and had received adequate corruption training where she would have gained a good understanding of the criminal outcomes should a relationship be entered into with a prisoner.

"We will continue to take robust action and investigate any offences which we suspect are taking place in our prisons.

"We want to reassure the honest, dedicated, and hardworking prison staff that we will continue to act against any member of staff who chooses to engage in corrupt activity.

"We encourage anyone who has information about corruption in our prisons to report it."