A FEMALE tutor at a jail had an inappropriate relationship with a male prisoner, a court heard.
Melissa Murphy, 48, locked herself alone with him in a classroom.
And letters describing their trysts were found in her bedroom, along with a photograph of the lag.
Murphy trained inmates for employment ahead of their release from Chelmsford jail, in Essex.
But she was rumbled when another member of staff was unable to enter the classroom where she was meeting the prisoner.
It was locked from the inside and her keys — meant never to leave her side — were not on her.
Murphy, who lived locally and worked at the jail for four years, admitted to the inappropriate relationship from 2023.
She pleaded guilty to misconduct and will be sentenced later.
Police said: “Murphy abused a position of trust by forming this inappropriate relationship.
“By definition, anyone held in prison is in a vulnerable position.
“It is crucial staff and prison officers do not put those they are required to help in positions such as this.
“She potentially put both of them at risk of harm through these actions.
