by Two prison workers were ‘in trouble’ with two serving prisoners and smuggled drugs and other contraband into the prison for them, the court was told. Amy Portwood, 41, and Adrienne Juniper, 35, were employed as carers, but ‘collaborated’ with convicted Manchester robbers Darren McAndrew and Philip Phythian, police said after sentencing all four.
Portwood and Juniper also exchanged a string of ‘sexually explicit’ text and WhatsApp messages with the men – and even apparently got tattoos on their bodies, a judge heard.
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Thursday that Pythian, of Gorton, was serving a six-year sentence for robbery and possession of a flavored article in a public place at HMP Risley in Warrington in late 2021, and that McAndrew, of Newton Heath, subject. to an extended sentence of 12 years for robbery and vehicle theft.
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Meanwhile, Portwood and Juniper, both mothers, are said to be ‘regular visitors’ to the category C prison as care workers for contractor Care Plus.
Philip Astbury, prosecuting, described how they were responsible for caring for a disabled prisoner, but instead became involved in ‘romantic relationships’ with Phythian and McAndrew. Portwood’s phone was shown to have exchanged 1,134 phone calls with the other over the course of a month, as well as 294 text messages, The Echo reports.
The pair also shared more than 1,000 WhatsApp messages between November 2021 and January 2022, including images that were later deleted from her device. Mr Astbury said some of these messages were ‘sexually explicit’ and others referred to ‘small phones’ and ‘sniff’.
Meanwhile Juniper, from Wigan, and McAndrew called each other 60 times and exchanged 1,598 texts, some of which were again ‘sexual in nature’. These included the prisoner sending topless pictures of himself to staff.
When the two mothers attended work on the morning of January 7, 2022, a drug-detecting dog was said to be “interested” in Juniper and jumped on her. However she “managed this” when she said she was wearing perfume and was allowed to continue into the prison.
The 35-year-old and Portwood later visited Kelly’s cell, where Phythian and McAndrew “loitered in the vicinity” before speaking to the two employees. The women were seen on CCTV taking their patient to the shower in his wheelchair, which had a “misplaced” blue heater on the back.
This garment was searched when they returned and there were five separate packages full of illegal items. Among the contents were a quantity of tobacco, a mobile phone, two USB sticks, cannabis resin worth up to £2,880 within the prison estate, herbal cannabis worth up to £1,850, £600 worth of cocaine, £200 worth of crack cocaine and £240 worth of heroin.
A search of Juniper’s home revealed £3,530 in cash, as well as around £500 worth of Turkish lira. A further £348 was seized from a drawer in Portwood’s bedroom. The court heard that the 41-year-old – of Hughes Avenue in Orford, Warrington – had the letter “P” on his forearm in an apparent reference to Phythian. Similarly, Juniper had a tattoo of the letter “D” on one of his fingers.
Phythian has 18 previous convictions for 36 offenses – including receiving 10 years for robbery, wounding with intent and aggravated burglary in 2009. Gemma Maxwell, defending, said the 33-year-old spent a year in custody after revocation. on licence, adding: “It is admitted that the defendant has a poor record, but no drug content.
“He has taken steps to rehabilitate himself. He has a reliable job within the prison.”
McAndrew’s criminal record shows 10 entries for 22 offences. These include robberies in 2000, 2003 and 2016 and wounding with intent and possession of a prohibited firearm in 2008. The 40-year-old’s barrister Milena Bennett said: “He was serving a long prison sentence under covid restrictions. he was feeling quite lonely because he had no visits from his family.
“Instead of targeting or grooming the co-defendant, he will say they were both attracted to each other and denies any intimidation or coercion. He initially started asking for tobacco because it was missing in custody. giving him cannabis for personal use Unfortunately, because others noticed the relationship between the two of them, he was asked to bring other items into the prison, and he did.
“He is very remorseful for his actions. Shortly after committing the offences, he was released on licence. He was back with his partner and children. It all came crashing down when he was recalled to custody. He started offending at a very young age He had a very dysfunctional life, coming from a dysfunctional family and getting in with the wrong crowd.
“This has resulted in him spending more time in custody than in the community. He has made efforts to start rehabilitating himself and has a job as a cleaner in custody.”
Juniper, of St Helen’s Road in Leith, Wigan, has no previous convictions. Philip Tully, defending, told the court: “They are both children with complex needs and, if she were to receive an immediate custodial sentence, it is likely to have a significant impact on the children and their care and well-being .
“She worked as a carer for eight or nine months with that company before this offense was committed without any issues. In fact, she was very thoughtful. After having a relationship with one co-defendant, Ms. Portwood told her that someone had a romantic interest in her.
“She was having difficulties in her long-term relationship and the approach felt uncomfortable. As a result she agreed to take tobacco and, gradually, other items into the prison. This action was completely out of character. She is a person who has a good work ethic and, despite difficulties in her personal life, is employed and providing for her family.
“She is someone who has issues with her mental health. She comes from a supportive and close-knit family and has expressed shame and embarrassment at her actions and the pain she has caused everyone.”
Appearing for Portwood, Gareth Bellis said she was “blinded by love and affection” and “groomed to some extent”. But he added: “She went into this with her eyes open. She has clearly shown genuine remorse. Your honor will consider how she took part in these offences. One could say, but in for the others, she wouldn’t be involved.”
McAndrew and Phythian, who both have no fixed address but are from Manchester, admitted bringing prohibited goods into prison and possessing a prohibited item in prison. Appearing via video link to HMP Forest Bank, they were both given a further three years and nine months behind bars.
Portwood and Juniper pleaded guilty to bringing prohibited articles into prison and possession with intent to supply heroin, cocaine, cannabis, cannabis resin and steroids. The first person nodded and became positive because she was locked up for 22 months. Juniper meanwhile received a 22-month prison sentence suspended for two years, plus 160 hours of unpaid work and a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 30 days. She burst into tears as she was spared an immediate prison term.
Sentencing, Judge Garrett Byrne said: “In my view Mr Phythian and Mr McAndrew took the opportunity, and there was some degree of manipulation or persuasion. You, Portwood and Juniper, abused it your position of trust as care workers providing care to prisoners.You were both extremely naive to say that you did not know very well that these items were not allowed into the prison.
“But you did it anyway, no doubt after letting your infatuation with your fellow defendants override your decision-making. These items are valuable currency within the prison system and can be used as instruments of extortion or power.”
Turning to Juniper, the judge added: “In this case, there are two children who are considered to be extremely vulnerable and have complex needs. For those reasons, I believe that Ms Juniper’s case can be distinguished and I feel in there to suspend the term of imprisonment.”
Detective Constable Brian Johnston, from the North West Regional Unit’s Prison Anti-Corruption Unit, said: “Drugs have no place in prison and hinder the rehabilitation of those in there, and have a negative impact on good order and discipline. Prisons. prison, often associated with violence, self-harm, bullying and debt.
“We would like to reassure honest, committed and hard-working prison staff that we will continue to take action against any staff who choose to engage in corrupt activity. We urge anyone with information about corruption to to report it in our prisons.”
