HMP Birmingham prison officer caught on camera having sex with inmate in store cupboard

A female prison officer who was caught on camera using a store cupboard to have secret meetings and sex with an inmate has been jailed for 16 months.

Shania Begum, 25, romped with prisoner Joshua Mulllings after striking up the 'inappropriate relationship' while working at HMP Birmingham. A court heard she used the store cupboard to engage in "play fighting, flirting, heavy petting and penetrative sex" with the lag at the Category B men's prison.

But their secret rendezvous were rumbled when prison bosses became suspicious and installed a camera which caught them in the act red-handed. Begum, of Telford, Shropshire, previously admitted misconduct in a public office and was jailed at Birmingham Crown Court yesterday (Thursday, January 11).

Sentencing, Judge John Butterfield said "As time went by you fell under suspicion and secret surveillance cameras were set up in the store cupboard." He said that it was the prisoners duty to keep the store cupboard tidy and one of those prisoners included Mullings.

He added: "You and he repeatedly spent time together in that store cupboard to be physically intimate, up to and including penetrative physical acts. You were observed engaging in consensual activity whilst on duty." He said what she had done had a "corrosive effect" on the prison system.

The court heard an anti-corruption probe was carried out after prison intelligence led bosses to believe she was having a relationship with the prisoner. Daniel Oscroft, prosecuting, said: "At the time she was a prison officer at HMP Birmingham and had been from December 3, 2018.

"The intelligence suggested that then relationship was intimate and taking place within a store cupboard within the prison. Cameras were placed within the store cupboard and between September 22 and 29 2022 the defendant and Joshua Mullings were observed engaging in sexual activity."

The court heard the activity also included Begum giving Mr Mullings oral sex on at least two occasions. The footage also showed on some occasions Begum's radio would go off, which she ignored, and she had also been interrupted by other members of staff.

There was one time when she could not be located for about an hour. When she was arrested her phone was seized and her internet browsing history revealed she had had an interest in Mullings and media reports written about him.

Mr Oscroft said her conduct: "Undermines confidence in the prison system, causes problems with prison order and has an impact on the stability and welfare of the prison estate."

Andrew Baker, defending, said "She is of previous good character and almost at a loss to explain her conduct. She is deeply remorseful." He said that she was a carer for her mother and elder sister who were both in relatively poor health.

Mr Baker added at the time pressure was being placed on her by an arranged marriage which had caused her to behave in an "out of character away." He said that she felt "cherished" by Mr Mullings who had been exploiting her.