Prison officer 'had phone sex with inmate she developed inappropriate relationship with'
A female prison officer had phone sex with an inmate she had an "inappropriate relationship" with and even met up with his mum, a court heard.
Ruth Shmylo, 26, is accused of beginning the relationship with the prisoner while she worked as a custody officer at Parc Prison in Bridgend, Wales, between August 2020 and April 2021.
The alleged five-month relationship was exposed after the inmate was moved from the Category B prison to HMP Manchester and their calls were recorded.
The prisoner, who has not been named, had passed a mobile number to Shmylo on a slip of paper and she phoned him on it for "teenage" style chats, her trial at Cardiff Crown Court has heard.
Prosecutor Matthew Cobbe said she should have reported the inmate to prison officials for having a secret phone behind bars, but instead chose to ring him.
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He said the prisoner would contact Shmylo "daily", had phone sex with her and referred to her as his "Mrs".
However, Mr Cobbe said that at one stage in the calls Shmylo tells the inmate that he is in the "friendzone" and he should accept it.
The inmate contacted the former prison officer on her birthday wishing her "happy birthday princess girl" and arranged for his mother to meet up with her, the court heard.
Mr Cobbe said: "The inappropriate relationship is demonstrated by recordings of calls by the inmate to Miss Shmylo after he had moved from Parc Prison to HMP Manchester.
"The recordings between him and Miss Shmylo relate to a time when she was no longer employed at Parc Prison.
"Nevertheless the tone of those conversations relate to a fair and sure inference that she had been in an inappropriate relationship with him while he was at Parc Prison."
Mr Cobbe said Shmylo made "several admissions" to police after being arrested over the phone calls.
One of her alleged admissions of officers was that she had phone sex with the inmate.
Mr Cobbe said: "She conceded during the course of her interview that she had had phone sex with the inmate.
"She explained this was principally the inmate saying things to her, noting that 'I was listening for the best part of it'.
"That means she was actively engaging in phone sex with the inmate - or some of it."
Mr Cobbe added that Shmylo has said she felt "pressurised" to call the inmate after he gave her his number.
However, he continued: "Having had that number she failed to report the fact he had given her his number, she failed to report that she felt pressure to make a call, she failed to report that she did call that number, or that he did have a mobile phone to call.
"She said that once she had taken that number from the inmate she felt trapped. It's the prosecution case that in truth she had a number of options and choices she could have made.
"She could and should have declined to take the number, she could and should have reported the incident to staff at the prison, she could and should have reported the fact he appeared to have a mobile phone, and she could and should have chosen not to call his number.
"Instead she chose to call his number."
Shmylo has said the inmate would contact her "pretty much every single day", the court heard.
She also claimed the prisoner threatened to harm another inmate if she stopped taking his calls.
Shmylo told police that she kept the other inmate locked in his cell all day to keep him away from the prisoner she had been speaking to over the phone, the court heard.
Mr Cobbe continued: "She went on to explain in her interview that the inmate forced her to meet with his mother.
"During the course of her meeting with his mother, his mother told her all about him, the inmate.
"He told Miss Shmylo that he wanted her to know what he was really like - and who better to tell her than his mother.
"When she told him that she didn't want to go to meet his mother he told her that she better go because his mother had made an effort - including doing her nails."
Shmylo was "released" from her role at Parc Prison after failing her probation in 2021, the court heard.
The calls were recorded in the weeks after she left her job there and the inmate had been moved to HMP Manchester.
Shmylo, of Treforest in Pontypridd, Wales, denies misconduct in a public office.
The trial continues.
