Female prison officer who exchanged love letters and 'sexual innuendos' with convicted killer is jailed

A female prison officer who exchanged love letters with a killer prisoner containing "sexual innuendos" and "romantic overtures" was last night starting her own spell behind bars.

Syndi Baker came from a family of prison guards, but broke the law by forging close relationships with two male prisoners at work and then keeping in touch with them through letters, a judge heard.
The letter trail was exposed when police were called in following an internal investigation into 25-year-old Baker's conduct in prison, after an inmate alluded to the pair having a sexual relationship.

When her bedroom was searched, a number of letters were discovered which showed she was in contact with a man jailed for life in 2009 for murder, who she had met during the course of her prison officer job.
Prosecutor Ruby Selva said the letters contained sexual innuendos and romantic overtures.

One letter written by Baker and dated June 1, 2012, had never been sent but showed she was "receptive of his interest."

"She writes as if they were friends," Ms Selva said.

"They have something special, that they can work through things, that she loves him."



The judge heard that Baker poured her heart out about problems she was having with her current boyfriend.

The familiarity and detail in a letter dated June 16, 2012 showed that the pair "must have spent considerable time together and got to know each other well," said Ms Selva.

"It tells of the sex they will have and it tells of reciprocated love."
Baker had got to know the prisoner when she worked at young offenders institution HMP Isis, in Greenwich, south-east London, between 2010 and 2012, Guildford Crown Court was told.

After this time, she would go to Croydon to meet the prisoner's brother to collect letters he had written to her and the brother's phone number was found in her phone under a pseudonym when her phone was searched by police.
Ms Selva said that this in itself represented a further offence, as the brother had also served jail time and it was against the law for prison officers to be in contact with former prisoners.

Citing the letters' content as damning proof of the inappropriate relationship between guard and prisoner, Ms Selva said: "There are clear expressions of love and the future that they will have together."

However, Rachel Naylor, defending, said it was absurd to seriously consider a future with a man serving a life sentence.
"In my submission, they show the immaturity of Mrs Baker and are probably indicative of a fantasy," she said.

"It is simply a false fantasy rather than a meaningful bond."

Ms Naylor continued: "Mrs Baker accepts that she displayed extraordinary stupidity. She accepts she foolishly, wilfully, misconducted herself. She accepts that is inexcusable.

"She has maintained throughout there has been no physical contact."
Baker was also said to have had an inappropriate relationship with a prisoner serving a five year jail term for firearms offences.

This prisoner had two periods of "overlap" with Baker, serving time in HMP Isis from August 2011 and in HMP High Down from February 2012, when Baker was employed there.

A letter from this inmate to Baker was intercepted in the Category B men's prison in Banstead, Surrey in 2012, in which the smitten prisoner referred to their relationship as "our little thing," and made clear his sexual intentions.
A further letter was found from him in the stash of nine letters in Baker's bedroom, understood to have been taken out of prison by her.

Prosecutors insisted Baker had been trained to report such matters to her superiors.

Basic prison training included how to interact with prisoners, avoid cohesive behaviour from inmates, and how to report any conflicts of interest.
The young guard had reported several such conflicts when she recognised an inmate from school and another through family links.

"From 2012 this defendant was fully aware of the rules and was capable of declaring conflicts of interest," Ms Selva said.

Disciplinary proceedings were started against Baker in 2013 after allegations of improper conduct, including allegations she had smuggled phones and drugs into prison.
Suspicions had been aroused after the inmate who wrote her letters at High Down was caught with mobile phones three times in six months.

Rumours were even circulating in the prison that Baker was a prostitute after one inmate made allegations of a sexual nature against the young guard, the court heard, but she always denied these claims and none were proceeded with by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Baker resigned from HMP High Down amid the scandal in August 2013, when her misconduct was discovered by detectives.
Ms Naylor said the former guard from Crawley, West Sussex, had married her long-term love, who had stuck with her throughout and with whom she had a seven-month old baby.

He had written a heartfelt letter to the judge in support of his wife although it was not read to the court.

Baker was now pregnant with their second child, Ms Naylor added, and had the full support of her parents, who both had long careers as prison guards themselves.
The devastated couple sat in the court's public gallery, wiping their eyes as they watched their daughter crying in the dock.

The petite woman broke into hysterical sobs when Judge Christopher Critchlow told her he would be handing her a custodial sentence for her breach of a trusted position.

Sentencing her to 12 months in prison, Judge Critchlow told Baker she would serve half that sentence, so would be out before she was due to give birth.
"I've been told that your parents are or were prison officers," he said.

"It must be very sad for them to see you in your current position.

"So it's a case of you receiving letters from a prisoner at Isis, not reporting them.

"You met his brother. You shouldn't have done that and you should have reported it.

"These were the inappropriate relationships you had in your position."
Judge Critchlow continued: "The integrity of each officer is of paramount importance. Something like this, of course, reflects on others with whom you work.

"There must be an immediate term of imprisonment. There must be an element of deterrent."

Sobbing hysterically as she was told to change roles from guard to prisoner and go down to the cells, Baker looked at her devastated parents in horror, crying out, "I love you, I'm sorry."