Salford prison officer who was tricked into 'sham romance' with inmate jailed

A prison officer who was "duped" into a romance with a convicted rapist has been jailed after she attempted to smuggle tens of thousands of pounds worth of drugs into a prison.

As a "relatively new" prison officer at HMP Forest Bank in Salford, Hannah Angwaba, a 30-year-old from Newton Heath, was "exploited" by 34-year-old Anton McPherson, an inmate at the prison.

McPherson "love-bombed" Angwaba shortly after she began working at the prison in December 2019, in a bid to win her affection and convince her to smuggle in contraband for the inmate.

Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court heard how Angwaba started what she believed to be a relationship with McPherson, a "pretty boy" who was later jailed for 11 years for twice raping a woman at a New Year's Eve party in Tameside in January 2019.

Edward Steele, prosecuting, told the court that text messages during the early part of the conspiracy show "a degree of protest from Hannah Angwaba" and a mission from McPherson to go "from a quasi-relationship into using her as a vehicle to bring contraband into prison".

Angwaba was caught with with a package containing cocaine, cannabis, and miniature mobile phones alongside tobacco hidden in her braids as she arrived for an afternoon shift on 22 January 2020.

As a result McPherson's cell was searched, where officers found a Zanco-style small mobile phone, a USB charger piece, a number of SIM cards wrapped in cling film, and a piece of paper with Angwaba's bank details on it.

She had learned the night before that the relationship was not genuine, and that McPherson had a girlfriend on the outside, the court was told.

However, she still agreed to bring in the contraband after being "pressured and persuaded" by McPherson's cellmate, Julius Marshall, 33, who she is also said to have struck up a "friendship" with and been having "inappropriate" contact with.

One message to her from Marshall read: "It’s not just his, it’s mine as well."

Whilst Angwaba said in interview that Marshall had told her over the phone, "If you’re not gonna do it for Anton do it for me".

She later admitted bringing in several more packages and being paid for some of them.

Mr Steele told the court the drugs had a value of around 10 times higher in prison than on the street.

There were 27.76 grams (just under an ounce) of cocaine with a purity of 79% and an estimated value inside of between £22,208 and £27,760.

There was also a total of 77 grams of cannabis with an estimated prison value of £7,700. Angwaba also admitted bringing in three previous packages, saying she had been paid nothing for the first two but £300 for the third.

She said she was due to be paid £500 for the package that was discovered.

Mr Steele said: "In short, Anton McPherson and Julius Marshall were the masterminds of the plan, working in conjunction with one another from their shared cell,"Hannah Angwaba was the naïve, so she thought ‘loved up’, new prison officer, manipulated by the two prison inmates to do their dirty work and bring drugs into prison."

The judge said there was an "element of love-bombing" from McPherson.

She denied any of the previous packages contained drugs and said she did not know about the drugs in the package that was seized.

She and Marshall pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to supply class A and class B drugs but were found guilty after a trial.Angwaba admitted misconduct in public office, conveying a list B article (mobile phones) and a list C article (tobacco) into prison. Marshall admitted unauthorised possession of a mobile phone.

McPherson, now of HMP Parkhurst on the Isle of Wight, admitted conspiracy to supply class A and class B drugs, and unauthorised possession of a mobile phone.Andrew Scott, defending Angwaba, said she had had a "traumatic upbringing" and had now been diagnosed with emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety, which "will have a trigger which has led to the commission of these offences."He said she was otherwise an "intelligent, industrious, and ambitious young woman.

"I invite your honour to pass a sentence which will offer Miss Angwaba a glimmer of light in what will be a long and dark tunnel."

During sentencing, Judge Jonathan Seely said: "This is case is very seriously aggravated by the fact she took part in the conspiracy as a prison officer. It represents a significant breach of trust."There must be deterrent sentences for offending of this sort by prison officers. It strikes at the very heart of the criminal justice system.

"From my assessment of the evidence, Hannah Angwaba was exploited by two male defendants, seasoned criminals both of them."She was exploited as a young woman with her own vulnerabilities, a very inexperienced prison officer. She was romantically exploited. That was a morally repugnant thing to do. But this is not a court of morals."She was duped but as far as she's concerned, things are not that straightforward.

"The evidence is that the night before January 22 it became clear the purported romance with McPherson was a sham she still went ahead with bringing in the drugs."Perhaps pressured and persuaded by Marshall. If she wasn't doing it for love, she was doing it for money as she was receiving payment for bringing in the drugs."

Angwaba, of Leng Road, Newton Heath, cried and sat with her head in her hands as she was handed a four-and-a-half-year jail sentence.

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