A prison officer told her inmate lover she was in a relationship with him “for the thrill”, a court heard. Niamh Lloyd, 22, met career burglar Lee Makin while she was working as a prison officer at Forest Bank jail in Salford, Greater Manchester. The pair became close after Lloyd was allegedly sexually assaulted at the prison, Manchester Crown Court was told.
Her lawyer said Makin, 40, was “the only person who did show her any empathy or any kind of support”. Their relationship continued after Makin was later transferred to HMP Berwyn in Wrexham, Wales. The pair were regularly in touch by phone, engaging in sexual conversations, as well as in letters addressed to “Big Lee”.
At one point, she told Makin she was with him “for the thrill”, adding: “I don’t like doing what I’m told.” During their conversations Lloyd, who previously worked as a civilian assistant for Greater Manchester Police and also runs a beauty business, identified a prisoner at category B jail Forest Bank as a paedophile and disclosed “operational information” to Makin about the prison. Lloyd burnt documents in an attempt to destroy evidence after being arrested.
She was said to have been “cocky and arrogant” in her police interview. On Wednesday, Lloyd and Makin were both jailed for a year. Judge Alan Conrad KC told Lloyd: “As a prison officer, you became much too close to your co-defendant.
What you did undermines the balance and good order of prison life. You also set abou.
