HMP Five Wells female prison guard Rachel Stanton weeps in court as she's spared jailed over armed robber affair
A 31-year-old female prison guard wept as she was spared jail time for engaging in an affair with an armed robber while he was serving a 10-and-a-half year sentence at HMP Five Wells in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.
Mum-of-five Rachel Stanton’s affair with Edwin Poole was uncovered in July 2022 when prison staff found three intimate photographs and a love letter in Poole’s cell.
CCTV footage also showed Stanton and Poole spending an hour in a prison storeroom for what was described in court as "intimacy". Following the discovery, Stanton was suspended, and Poole was transferred to another prison. Despite this, Stanton continued to visit Poole, and the two eventually had a child together before splitting up.
Stanton, from Irthlingborough, admitted to willful misconduct in a public office at Northampton Crown Court. She cried in the dock as she was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to participate in 20 days of rehabilitation activities.
Judge David Herbert KC, during sentencing, said: "You should have known better. Your offending is so serious it demands a custodial sentence. I have to sentence you for a single offence. In short, you had a relationship with a prisoner.
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“There was clear undisputable evidence between you that was discovered. They found a sexually explicit letter and some intimate images of yourself. CCTV footage shows the two of you together and you were in a room privately, together. Some intimacy must have taken place. She should have known what the boundaries were. It shouldn’t take training to know she shouldn’t be doing that."
The judge credited Stanton for her guilty plea and acknowledged that the relationship with Poole was "entirely consensual". He further added: "If you can stay out of trouble you have nothing to fear but it will be hanging over your head – work hard at the order."
Stanton had been working as a trainee G4S security first line manager at HMP Five Wells when she met Poole, who was jailed for armed robbery in 2018. Lee Egan, defending, said Stanton had not abused her position to smuggle contraband or allowed herself to be exploited, describing her as an "inexperienced" officer selected for a training course to manage a landing of men at the super-prison.
Stanton, dressed in jeans and a black top, covered her head with a tote bag as she left the court with a friend.