Prison officer, 27, jailed for a year for phone sex with inmate who is serving 14 years for drug dealing

16 August 2023, 19:38 | Updated: 16 August 2023, 19:39

A prison officer will be jailed after an intimate affair with an inmate conducted through phone sex was exposed.

Prison officer Katie Loxton, 27, started the illicit relationship with Adam Higgs, 32, while she was a custody officer HMP Oakwood in Staffordshire.

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Suspicions were aroused when Loxton was noticed to be frequently visiting Higgs's block, with the spooked officer brushing off suggestions of a relationship between herself and the convicted drug kingpin.

The relationship was conducted between the pair using a prison mobile which had Loxton saved under an alias - dialing the decoy 3,451 times to the cost of £798.

But the pair also made use of a concealed mobile which saw the pair exchange explicit conversations on social media between summer 2021 and January 2022.

Wolverhampton Crown Court jailed Loxton for 12 months for professional misconduct and unauthorised electronic transmissions after a search of her house revealed love letters penned by Higgs.

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Higgs received an additional eight months in prison for his part in the taboo romance.

Detective Constable Adam McHugh of Staffordshire Police, who dealt with the case, said: “Loxton and Higgs were able to manipulate the security measures of the prison telephony system to hide their relationship from officers and inmates.

“We are committed to upholding the values and conduct the public expected of Public Office workers. I’m happy that Loxton recognised her conduct had fallen short of the expected standard.”