13 December 2023 , 16:27
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A prison officer accused of having phone sex with a serving inmate was in an “inappropriate relationship” with him and was caught out when calls were recorded, prosecutors have told the court.
Ruth Shmylo, 26, was working as a prisoner officer and Harri Pullen was a prisoner at HMP Parc in Bridgend. A court heard how she failed to report his advances and actively engaged in their relationship, which involved phone sex. And the pair's antics were only rumbled after he moved prisons.
A trial at Cardiff Crown Court heard Shmylo, from Pontypridd, and Pullen were alleged to have been in a relationship between December 1, 2020, and April 17, 2021. She began working at the prison in October 2020 but did not pass her probationary period and was released from her employment in April 2021. Pullen, who was a member of an organised crime gang and was sentenced to 42 months imprisonment for drug offences.
Prosecutor Matthew Cobbe told the court today that the admissions made by Shmylo in her interview, the recorded conversations between her and the inmate, the inference that can be drawn from those conversations demonstrates she was in an “inappropriate relationship” with the inmate at the time she was working in HMP Parc.
Harri Pullen (WALES NEWS SERVICE)He added: “It’s not possible to clearly define the nature of their relationship. That’s because it’s not possible to say whether the relationship became physical in any way, it’s not possible to say where on the spectrum between friends and lovers was their relationship.
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“But we say the prosecution do not need to fall into the trap of trying to do that or try and engage in that exercise. All that’s needed is for you to be sure she was in an inappropriate relationship. Having regard to the recordings and admissions she makes in interview, it’s of course the prosecution’s case in due course you will find she surely was.”
The jury earlier heard Pullen was moved to HMP Manchester in May 2021, and conversations between him and Shmylo were recorded by the prison authorities. During the calls, the inmate asked the defendant to tell him he loved her, which she refused to do, and told her he “missed her face”.
HMP Parc's head of security Daniel Hayman said Shmylo had training on how to avoid conditioning, manipulation and exploitation at the hands of inmates. He added: “They may attempt to corner staff in a manner that might force them to be separated from their colleagues, to force them to do something they might not otherwise do."
He told the court that Pullen later asked the prison to add Shmylo as a contact, so they would be able to call each other and she would be able to visit. The witness added: “(Inappropriate relationships) have the ability to undermine all the good work other staff do in prison… Staff are expected to maintain healthy and expected boundaries and to maintain order in the prison; that cannot happen if there is a personal relationship which can be compromised by the prisoner.”
It comes after the court was told on Tuesday how Shmylo and the inmate had engaged in “phone sex”. Mr Cobbe said: “She explained this was principally the inmate saying things to her, noting ‘I was listening for the best part of it'. Putting that slightly differently, that means she was actively engaging in phone sex with the inmate for some of it. She was asked about the frequency of calls with the inmate, and accepted the calls continued to the point of her arrest.
“We do not accept she was found to have taken the inmate’s call but had control to engage with him. She understood the risk of engaging with a prisoner and understood that staff could be compromised or find themselves manipulated if they engage in such a way with a prisoner. She repeatedly speaks of the pressure she felt. The basic facts we say demonstrates she had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with this inmate.
“Having received the telephone number from him, she’d call him on that number, used a SIM card for that purpose, failed to report he had a mobile phone, put another prisoner at risk by failing to report that, interfered with another inmate’s liberty, met with his mother, discussed her personal life with him, the prison, and engaged in phone sex with him.”
Shmylo, of Lewis Street, Treforest, denies one count of misconduct in a public office.
The trial continues.