Prison officer and inmate appear in court over alleged sexual relationship

A prison officer and an inmate have appeared in court jointly charged with misconduct in public office after allegedly having a sexual relationship.

Alicia Novas, 19, and Declan Winkless, 30, appeared separately at Northampton Magistrates’ Court on Monday charged with committing misconduct in public office at HMP Five Wells between August and December last year.

The charge states that Novas acting as a prison custody officer “wilfully misconducted herself in a way which amounted to an abuse of the public’s trust” by providing her telephone number to Winkless, failing to report his possession of a telephone and cannabis, and “entering into a sexual relationship” with him.

A second joint charge of misconduct is said to have been committed by the pair on November 23 2024 by Novas providing information about whether Winkless was suspected of wrongdoing by prison authorities.

The charges, detailed in court documents, state that Winkless is alleged to have encouraged and assisted both offences.

Both defendants face further joint charges of making an illegal electronic transmission from a prison, one of bringing, throwing or conveying cannabis into a prison and one of conveying two mobile phones into a jail, all relating to HMP Five Wells, near Wellingborough.

A second joint charge of making an illegal electronic transmission of an image relates to HMP Peterborough during a time period between December 2024 and March this year.

Winkless, of HMP Swaleside in Kent and formerly of South Wigston, Leicestershire, faces a seventh charge of possessing a mobile phone with sim card at Five Wells without authority on December 22 last year.

Neither defendant was asked to enter a plea during the hearings and they were ordered to appear at Northampton Crown Court on December 1.

Novas, wearing a white top and black trousers, appeared in court in person while Winkless appeared before magistrates via a prison video-link.

The female defendant, of Raunds, Northamptonshire, was granted bail with conditions not to contact Winkless, not to contact any serving HMP prisoner by any means and not to attend any prison except by prior arrangement.