PRISON NURSE PLEADS GUILTY TO MISCONDUCT OVER INMATE RELATIONSHIP

A nurse who worked at HMP Wandsworth has pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office after admitting an inappropriate personal relationship with a convicted killer held at the prison. Stephanie Adair, 29, of Southwark, south London, entered the plea at Kingston Crown Court. The charge against her relates to conduct between September 2023 and November 2024, during which she maintained contact with inmate Jakhi Crosdale using what prosecutors described as his illicit mobile phone. Crosdale, 28, who prosecutor Oliver Mosley told the court had previously been convicted of manslaughter, appeared at the same hearing via video link from HMP Manchester. He faced a separate charge of unauthorised transmission of image or sound by electronic communication from within a prison, covering alleged conduct at HMP Wandsworth and HMP Lowdham Grange between February and October 2024, to which he also pleaded guilty.

Adair spoke in the dock only to confirm her name and her guilty plea, and was dressed in a black blazer for the hearing. Crosdale is reported to be on recall until 2029. The court was told the relationship involved use of a mobile phone that had been brought into the prison system without authorisation, allowing contact to continue outside approved channels. HMP Wandsworth has been the subject of wider scrutiny in reporting on prison standards, though no further detail on that scrutiny was given in connection with this case.

Both defendants were granted unconditional bail following the hearing at Kingston Crown Court. They are due to return to be sentenced on 9 February. No further detail was given on what penalties prosecutors will seek for either defendant. The case was heard alongside confirmation of the respective guilty pleas, with no trial required on either charge.