Amy Portwood, 35, and Adrienne Juniper, 41, burst into tears as they were jailed for becoming 'infatuated' with inmates - and smuggling drugs into prison for them
Two mums who were employed at a prison as carers became "infatuated" with inmates and began smuggled drugs into jail for them, a court has heard.
Amy Portwood, 35, and Adrienne Juniper, 41, burst into tears after they were slapped with 22-month long prison sentences. The pair were caught bringing drugs and other contraband into the prison while they were employed at the site, acting on behalf of convicted robbers Darren McAndrew and Philip Phythian, who they also exchanged "overtly sexual" texts and WhatsApp messages with. It was reported that the mums had tattooed the initials of the men onto their bodies.
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Thursday, June 13, that Portwood and Juniper were "regular visitors" to the category C site as care workers for contractor Care Plus. Philip Astbury, prosecuting, said they were assigned to take care of a disabled prisoner named John Kelly, but instead got into "romantic relationships" with Phythian and McAndrew.
Portwood exchanged 1,134 phone calls and 294 text messages with Phythian over the course of a month. The loved-up pair also shared over 1,000 WhatsApp messages across three months, including images which had subsequently been deleted from Portwood's device. Mr Astbury described the messages as "overtly sexual in their content" while others spoke of "tiny phones" and "sniff". Juniper and McAndrew exchanged 60 calls and 1,598 texts, with some again being "sexual in nature".
A drug detection dog had "taken an interest" in Juniper and jumped up at her on the morning on January 7, 2022. Juniper "passed this off" by putting it down to the perfume she was wearing, and was then allowed into the prison. Phythian and McAndrew "loitered in the vicinity" before the women were captured on CCTV taking their patient John Kelly to the shower in his wheelchair, which had an "out of place" blue body warmer on the back.
It was eventually found to have contained five packages packed filled with illegal goods, including tobacco, a mobile phone and two USB sticks. It also contained drugs worth thousands, including cannabis resin worth up to £2,880, herbal cannabis valued at £1,850, £600 worth of cocaine, crack cocaine worth £200, and £240 worth of heroin.
The court heard that 41-year-old Adrienne Juniper of Hughes Avenue in Orford, Warrington, had the letter "P" tattooed on her forearm in an apparent reference to Phythian, While Juniper had tattoed "D" on one of her fingers. Phythian has 18 previous convictions, one of which he served 10 years in prison for. Gemma Maxwell, defending, said the 33-year-old "has a poor record, but he does not have any drug matters. He has taken steps to rehabilitate himself. He has occupied a trusted position within the prison."
McAndrew, 40, has 22 previous offences, including robbery and wounding with intent. His counsel Milena Bennett said: "He was feeling quite lonely because he did not have any visits from his family. Rather than targeting or grooming the co-defendant, he will say it was a mutual attraction between the two of them and he refutes any intimidation or coercion. He started asking initially for tobacco because he was missing it in custody.
"That progressed to asking her to bring cannabis for him for personal use. Unfortunately, due to the fact that others noticed the relationship between the two of them, he was asked to ask for other items to be brought into prison, and he did."
Juniper, from Greater Manchester, has no previous convictions. Philip Tully, defending, told the court: "Both of her children are children with complex needs and, if she was to receive an immediate custodial sentence, the impact upon the children and their care and wellbeing is likely to be significant. She is someone who suffers issues in relation to her mental health. She is from a supportive and close family and has expressed shame and disgust about her actions and the pain she has caused everyone."
Appearing on behalf of Portwood, who was previously fined in 2003 for an unrelated conviction, Gareth Bellis said she had been "blinded by love and affection" and subjected to a "form of grooming to a certain extent", but added "she went into this with her eyes open. Clearly, she has shown genuine remorse. Your honour will take into account how she became involved in these offences. One might say, but for the others, she would not have been involved."
McAndrew and Phythian admitted conveying prohibited articles into a prison and possession of a prohibited item in a prison. They were each handed a further three years and nine months onto their prison terms. Portwood and Juniper pleaded guilty to conveying prohibited articles into a prison and possession of heroin, cocaine, cannabis, cannabis resin and steroids with intent to supply.
Portwood nodded and became tearful as she was jailed for 22 months. Juniper also received a 22-month sentence, suspended for two years, with 160 hours of unpaid work and a rehabilitation activity requirement. She burst into tears after being spared an immediate jail term.
Sentencing, Judge Garrett Byrne said: "It is my view that Mr Phythian and Mr McAndrew took the opportunity, and there was a degree of manipulation or persuasion. You, Portwood and Juniper, abused your position of trust as care workers providing care to prisoners.
"You have both been extremely naïve, to say the least. You knew perfectly well that these items were not permitted to be brought into prison. But you did it anyway, no doubt having allowed your infatuation with your co-defendants to overcome 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 assessed as extremely vulnerable and have complex needs. For those reasons, I believe that Ms Juniper's case can be distinguished and I feel able to suspend the term of imprisonment."
