A prison officer and an inmate who had a sexual relationship have pleaded guilty to misconduct charges.

Alicia Novas, 19, and 30-year-old Declan Winkless admitted the offences at Northampton Crown Court after she provided her telephone number to the prisoner and failed to report his possession of a phone and cannabis.

Novas, who stood in the dock wearing a black outfit and glasses, and Winkless, who appeared by videolink from HMP Swaleside in Kent, both admitted misconduct in public office between August and December 2024 at HMP Five Wells in Northamptonshire.

They also both pleaded guilty to a separate charge of misconduct on November 23 last year.

The court heard that Novas, acting as a prison custody officer, “wilfully misconducted” herself “in a way which amounted to an abuse o

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