A 46-year-old prison officer has been sentenced to jail after her own body-worn camera captured her engaging in a sexual act with an inmate at HMP Highpoint in Stradishall, Suffolk.
Rebecca Pinckard admitted misconduct in a public office after footage recorded in July 2024 showed her alone with prisoner Erion Nakdi, 42, inside a storage cupboard. Cambridge Crown Court heard the evidence was discovered by a fellow officer during routine checks.
Pinckard, who is from Cambridgeshire, was sentenced on Friday, January 16, to 32 weeks in custody.
Court documents revealed the inappropriate conduct took place over several months, between April 9 and July 6, 2024. Prosecutors said Pinckard also sent Nakdi a Moonpig card to “cheer him up” while he was dealing with personal problems and failed to report explicit social media videos he allegedly sent from inside his cell.
The court was told Pinckard had previously been warned about becoming “overfamiliar” with inmates and for giving out “cakes and sweets”. Sentencing her, Judge Cartin said she was caught due to a “clumsy mistake” made during the collection of evidence, adding that the offence was not an isolated incident. He said her actions “diminish public confidence in the criminal justice system”.
In mitigation, Pinckard’s defence argued the incident was not a relationship but a “moment of madness”, claiming she was going through a difficult time following the breakdown of a long-term relationship.
Nakdi, who pleaded guilty to possessing a mobile phone in prison, received a further 10-month sentence to run alongside his existing term. He had previously been jailed for more than 16 years in 2022 for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
HMP Highpoint is one of the largest Category C prisons in England, housing around 1,300 inmates. Former prisoners have included Tony Martin, Blake Fielder-Civil — the former partner of Amy Winehouse — and disgraced footballer Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, who served time there for drug smuggling.
