A prison officer accused of having "inappropriate relationship" that allegedly included "phone sex" with a prisoner broke down in tears after describing threats he allegedly made against her, including 'harming her cats'.
Cardiff Crown Court heard how Ruth Shmylo claimed she could not have reported the matter of a relationship with Harry Pullen to her employers after being bullied for being a whistleblower, Wales Online reported.
Shmylo, 26, of Pontypridd, allegedly began an "inappropriate relationship" with the inmate while she was working as a prison officer and he was a prisoner at HMP Parc in Bridgend. She denies one count of misconduct in public office.
The court heard she failed to report his advances and actively engaged in their relationship, which involved phone sex.
The court on Monday (December 18) saw the defendant give evidence about her involvement with Pullen, who was a member of an organised crime gang and had been imprisoned for drug offences.
When asked to describe his behaviour, Shmylo said: "He was really boisterous… Intimidating when you stood in front of him, he had a presence on the wing and he was very erratic… He was banging the door shouting saying he wanted to speak to the governor and staff. He was a handle should we say."
She said Pullen passed on his number to her on a piece of paper, and later called her on her personal phone. The defendant said: "I said 'Why are you doing this?' I was in a panic, he said 'I just need to speak to you'…."
"He said 'I've got you now'… That I had no choice because I had answered the phone and if I told anyone he knows it's going to be me."
Shmylo said Pullen would call her "continuously" and would threaten other prisoners if she did not answer his calls.
She added: "He made threats to actually harm me, if I had a partner he would kill me and them, threatened to come to my house with my family, threatened to hot water my brother in law, to harm my cats, to come to my house."
When defence barrister Clare Wilks asked if anything "sexual or physical" had taken place in the prison, Shmylo said: "No."
When asked why she hadn't reported Pullen, the defendant said: "There was no one for me to tell, the senior manager outed me as a whistleblower, staff had no regard for my welfare whatsoever, it would have got back to me. There was no safe option for me to report what he had done."
Shmylo was also questioned about Pullen asking her to visit his mum, who the defendant admits to seeing once.
During questioning on Pullen's mum, she alleged the inmate made threats when she refused to go see her.
She then broke down in tears and added: “I thought I was going to die.”
The trial continues.
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