Prison Officer Jailed After Sex Scandal With Inmate

On January 26, 2026, the walls of HMP Five Wells in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, seemed to close in not just on its inmates, but on the trust that underpins the British prison system. Alicia Novas, a former prison officer just 20 years old, was sentenced to three years in prison after a scandal that saw her cross every professional boundary imaginable with inmate Declan Winkless. The story, which unfolded over a few turbulent months, has left many asking how such a breach of security and ethics could occur inside a modern correctional facility.

Novas, who began working at HMP Five Wells in July 2024 at the age of 18, found herself in a whirlwind relationship with Winkless, a 31-year-old prisoner serving an eleven-year and three-month sentence for conspiracy to commit burglary. According to BBC News, Winkless had arrived at the prison in June, just a month before Novas took up her post. By November 6, 2024, the two were in direct electronic communication after Novas handed over her personal phone number to Winkless. What followed was an illicit relationship that would soon spiral out of control.

The pair exchanged nearly 3,000 messages, calls, and video calls during the indictment period, which spanned from August 2024 to March 2025, as reported by Sky News. Prosecutors revealed that Winkless used at least four illicit devices to maintain contact with Novas, who also smuggled two mobile phones and cannabis into the prison for him. The relationship quickly escalated from flirtation to full-blown romance. By November 16, 2024, it had become sexual, with two videos showing Novas engaging in sexual intercourse with Winkless while still in her prison uniform. These videos, recorded by Winkless, were later shared on Snapchat and eventually made their way into the press, a fact highlighted by The Daily Star.

But the scandal didn’t end there. Novas’s actions went beyond personal misconduct. She provided Winkless with sensitive information, including the identity of a prison informant and details about whether he was under suspicion by prison authorities. On November 23, 2024, Winkless asked Novas, “who the snitch was,” and Novas complied, passing on the name and what officials knew or suspected about him. Judge Rebecca Crane, who presided over the sentencing at Northampton Crown Court, made it clear how dangerous this was: “This put the informant at very considerable risk to his personal safety. It also undermined any prison investigation.”

Judge Crane did not mince words in her assessment of Novas’s actions. “You failed to consider the seriousness of your actions and the potential impact on the security and safety of the staff and prisoners and how it undermined the work of the prison,” she declared, according to BBC News. She described Novas as “naive and immature,” but also pointed out that “even an inexperienced and naive prison officer would know that prisoners who are suspected of being informants are often victims of very serious violence.”

Novas pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including misconduct in public office between August 1, 2024, and December 24, 2024. Winkless, who admitted to “encouraging and assisting” Novas in her wrongdoing, received an additional sentence of three years and four months, to be served consecutively with his current term, which lasts until April 2029. Both defendants appeared for sentencing via videolink from HMP Peterborough, as reported by Sky News and The Daily Star.

The court also heard that Novas’s vulnerabilities played a role in her downfall. Liam Muir, her defense counsel, told the court that Novas was suffering from an emotionally unstable personality disorder at the time of the offences, a condition that had not been diagnosed. Judge Crane acknowledged this, noting, “Given your age and inexperience, you were vulnerable to being manipulated. However, you could easily have reported matters to the prison authorities and sought assistance.”

The fallout from Novas’s arrest was immediate and dramatic. On December 23, 2024, she was detained after a phone was seized from Winkless’s cell. Released on bail, Novas resigned from her post three days later. But even then, she couldn’t break off contact with Winkless, making about 400 further phone calls to him after her arrest, a detail that underscores the depth of her involvement and the challenge of enforcing boundaries in such fraught environments.

Winkless, for his part, admitted to two counts of encouraging misconduct in public office, as well as offences related to unauthorised communication, using cannabis in prison, and unauthorised possession of communication devices. With sixteen previous convictions, his record was already lengthy. Judge Crane told him, “You were older and had more life experience and used that to manipulate Novas.”

Both Novas and Winkless pleaded guilty to two counts of unauthorised transmission of image or sound by electronic communication from within a prison, covering periods both before and after Novas’s arrest—from August 1 to December 24, 2024, and from December 23, 2024, to March 21, 2025. They also admitted to two counts of conveying an article into or out of a prison, relating to the cannabis and the mobile phones. Winkless was also found in unauthorised possession of a Motorola phone discovered in his cell during a search on December 22, 2024.

The consequences of their actions, as one prison manager put it in a statement referenced by the judge, were profound: such offences “damage public trust and undermine prison security.” The exposure of a prison informant not only puts lives at risk but also threatens the entire investigative process within the institution.

Despite her youth and personal struggles, Novas was held to account for her choices. She was told she would serve half her sentence in jail before being released on license. Judge Crane’s final words captured the gravity of the situation: “You persisted in having contact over a significant period even after your arrest. You failed to consider the seriousness of your actions and the potential impact on the security and the safety of staff and prisoners and how it undermined the work of the prison.”

The case of Alicia Novas and Declan Winkless is a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities—both human and institutional—that can exist within the prison system. It’s a cautionary tale that underscores the need for vigilance, support, and robust safeguards to prevent similar breaches in the future.