Second ex-prison guard charged with ‘illicit relationship’ with inmate at same jail

Sarah Barnett is the latest in a series of prison officers to be charged with having a secret love affair with one of the dangerous jailbirds locked up inside HMP Dovegate

Another former prison guard has been charged with having a secret and inappropriate relationship with an inmate. She is the second ex-officer in a week to be caught having an illicit relationship with a prisoner.

Sarah Barnett was officially charged on Thursday (October 23) after she was spotted having illicit conversations with the jailbird. The incident took place at HMP Dovegate in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire — a prison that houses some of the UK’s most dangerous criminals.

Appearing before Derby Magistrates’ Court, the 31-year-old faced charges of misconduct in a public office. She has since denied the charges and will appear before Derby Crown Court on November 6.

In the case, according to the Sun, Sarah is alleged to have “wilfully neglected to perform duty or wilfully misconducted herself” whilst working as a public officer. According to prosecutors, she did this by “conducting a personal relationship with a serving prisoner”.

The alleged relationship took place between August 11 and August 24 in 2023. Since the relationship was unearthed, Sarah has left her role as a prison officer and is now working as a self-employed beauty therapist.

According to her website, the business offers customers treatments for their eyebrows and eyelashes whilst being based in Sarah’s hometown of Rugeley, also in Staffordshire. She has not publicly commented on the incident she appeared in court for.

Sarah is not the first prison officer to be charged with an illicit relationship with an inmate. In fact, she is the second former prison guard at HMP Dovegate to be reprimanded for an inappropriate connection with a prisoner in the past week, after Heather Pinchbeck was arrested on the same charge.

The 28-year-old pleaded guilty to making illicit calls to Joseph Hardy, 31, over the course of several weeks. Hardy is currently serving a 14-year stint in jail after being sent to prison back in 2017 for a conviction of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Appearing before Birmingham Crown Court on Wednesday (October 22), she pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office during the course of February 15 and March 4 of 2023. Following the guilty plea, Pinchbeck was granted conditional bail ahead of her sentencing on January 9, 2026.

Previously, the court heard how Pinchbeck had been working at HMP Dovegate, classified as a Category B jail, when she first came across Joseph Hardy. Hardy was put into prison after he was found guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm after carrying out the machete attack on the unarmed man.

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