A female prison officer who went on to work for the police passed on ‘sensitive intelligence and tactics’ to inmate she was having an ‘intimate’ relationship with.
Stephanie Heaps passed on ‘sensitive police and prison intelligence and tactics’ to Leon Ramsden during their relationship.
The 30-year-old failed to report criminality, smuggled in illegal items and supplied a colleague’s personal details to a serving prisoner while working at HMP Wymott.
Heaps, from Runcorn, Cheshire, pleaded guilty to two counts of misconduct in public office when she appeared at Bolton Crown Court on Friday.
She also admitted intentionally encouraging or assisting the commission of an either way offence, namely by speaking to Ramsden on an illegal mobile phone in his possession, conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to launder money.
All the offences took place between March 2018 and July 2020 when she served as a prison officer and then as a police officer with Greater Manchester Police (GMP) in their Bolton district.
Ramsden, who appeared via videolink from HMP Parc, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit burglary, conspiracy to launder money and two counts of possessing a mobile phone in prison.
He denied a charge of supplying cannabis inside prison while five other people faced various charges.
Ramsden, 50, and Clifford McCarthy, 33, both from Bolton, each pleaded not guilty to a charge of conspiracy to launder money at an earlier hearing.
They will now face trial – along with Layten Ramsden – next August.
Joanne Campbell, 46, from Bolton, who previously pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to launder money, also admitted intentionally encouraging or assisting the commission of an either way offence.
Thomas Barrass, 26, from Bolton, and Philip Markland, 38, both of Bolton, both pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit burglary.
Judge Tom Gilbart said he would sentence all those who had entered guilty pleas following the conclusion of the trial.
But he warned Heaps and the others, after handing them unconditional bail, that in ‘no way’ was that an indication of what the sentence would be and it was merely so ‘all matters’ could be considered by the court.