Prison near York apologises for inmate's contact with abuse complainant

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 10 Oct, 06:19 · Archive

HMP Hull has tightened controls on prisoner phone calls after an inmate made hundreds of calls to a domestic abuse complainant.

HMP Hull, the male remand prison for York and North Yorkshire, has tightened its controls on prisoner phone calls after an inmate managed to contact a domestic abuse complainant hundreds of times. Vincent Sherwood, 48, was sent to the prison earlier this year after being charged with strangling and suffocating a woman. York Crown Court heard that Sherwood was able to ring the complainant in the domestic abuse case hundreds of times and persuade her to drop the charges against him. Prisoners are only allowed to call numbers approved by prison officers, but Sherwood's solicitor advocate Graham Parkin told the court: 'I cannot see how the woman's number was approved.'

When prison staff listened to recordings of the calls, they heard Sherwood pressurising the woman to retract her statement and coaching her in what to tell police. Transcripts were forwarded to detectives and Sherwood was charged with perverting the course of justice. He admitted the charge and was sentenced to four years in jail.

A Prison Service spokesman apologised for the distress and anxiety the case had caused, saying: 'Protecting victims is our absolute priority.' The prison said contact was blocked as soon as it became aware of the issue and stronger checks on prisoner calls have since been added to prevent unwanted contact.

How it is being reported

• Prison near York apologises after inmate was able to phone domestic abuse complainantThe male remand prison for York and North Yorkshire has tightened its controls on prisoners making phone calls after an inmate managed to phone a domestic abuse complainant hundreds of times.The Press (York) · 10 Oct, 05:00
• Prison near York apologises after inmate was able to phone domestic abuse complainantThe male remand prison for York and North Yorkshire has tightened its controls on prisoners making phone calls after an inmate managed to phone a domestic abuse complainant hundreds of times.Gazette & Herald (Malton) · 10 Oct, 05:00

In this story: Vincent Sherwood · HMP Hull · York Crown Court · York · North Yorkshire

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