A 46-year-old prison officer has been sentenced to jail after being caught on her own bodyworn camera performing a sex act on an inmate at HMP Highpoint in Suffolk.
Rebecca Pinckard pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office after footage from her bodycam revealed her inside a store cupboard with prisoner Erion Nakdi, 42. The incident came to light in July 2024 during routine checks by another officer.
Cambridge Crown Court heard the inappropriate conduct took place over several months, between April 9 and July 6, 2024. In addition to the sexual encounter, Pinckard sent Nakdi a Moonpig card to “cheer him up” and failed to report explicit social media videos he allegedly sent from inside his cell.
Pinckard, from Cambridgeshire, had previously been warned for being overfamiliar with inmates and for giving them cakes and sweets. On Friday, January 16, she was sentenced to 32 weeks in prison.
Judge Cartin said she was caught due to a “clumsy mistake” but stressed the offence was not a one-off. He said her actions seriously undermined public confidence in the criminal justice system.
Her defence claimed the incident was a “moment of madness” rather than a relationship, citing personal difficulties following the end of a long-term relationship.
Nakdi, who admitted possessing a mobile phone in prison, received an additional 10-month sentence on top of his existing term. He had previously been jailed in 2022 for more than 16 years for conspiracy to supply class A drugs.
HMP Highpoint is one of the largest Category C prisons in England, housing around 1,300 inmates.
