EXCLUSIVE: Life after Her Majesty’s Pleasure: Female prison officers put behind bars for having sex with jailbirds rebuild their lives by having babies and starting new career

• Jennifer Gavan, Ayshea Gunn and Emily Watson were jailed in the last three years
• All three shared relationships with inmates at £250million HMP Berwyn in Wales
• Two have since had babies with new partners and another started a new career

Three women prison officers who were all jailed for having sex with prisoners at the same jail have all tried to move on – two by having babies and one by starting a new career, MailOnline can reveal.

Disgraced Jennifer Gavan, Ayshea Gunn and Emily Watson were all locked up within the last three years for sparking relationships with prisoners at £250 million super prison HMP Berwyn in Wrexham, North Wales, which houses Category C adult male offenders.

Staff at the prison, which opened in 2017, have now had to undergo compulsory new training in a bid to tackle such issues at the 2,100-capacity jail.

The most recent to be jailed was Gavan, 27, who was sent down for eight months last month. She had sent intimate photos of herself to prisoner Alex Coxon, 25, on Snapchat and kissed him during the relationship between April and July 2020. She also smuggled a mobile phone behind bars for Coxon.

Jennifer Gavan, 27, was handed an eight-month sentence last month. She had sent intimate photos of herself to prisoner Alex Coxon, 25, on Snapchat and kissed him during the relationship between April and July 2020. She also smuggled a mobile phone behind bars for him

Former prison guard Emily Watson is pictured here in December

Former Prison officer Ayshea Gunn had a relationship with ‘dangerous’ inmate Khuram Razaq, 29, in HMP Berwyn Prison, Wrexham

Gavan, of Llay, Wrexham, pleaded guilty to misconduct in public at Mold Crown Court after she accepted £150 to bring in the mobile phone.

MailOnline can reveal that despite her public disgrace, Gavan’s partner and the father to her baby son, has vowed to stand by her while she serves her time behind bars.

Gavan is understood to have met her partner around a year after her indiscretion in spring 2021 and the couple now have a six-month old son.

In a touching Facebook post on December 23, he posted a photo of his son and wrote: ‘Christmas won’t be the same this year but we will make it as good as we can little man. We love you mummy.’

In other gushing posts, he pays tribute to his ‘perfect little family’ calling them ‘my world.’

He declined to comment further when approached by MailOnline at his home north of Wrexham.

However, a source close to him revealed he ‘feels blessed to have Jen and his son in his life. He thinks that she’s a one in a million and that he is a lucky lad to have such a loving family.’

Gavan’s relationship with a prisoner came just one year after fellow officer Ayshea Gunn, 27, had a fling with ‘dangerous’ Berwyn inmate Khuram Razaq, 29.

Gunn, 27, from Wrexham, was photographed in public this week for the first time since leaving jail.

Ayshea Gunn is pictured. She was photographed kissing Razaq, who was serving a 12-year sentence for conspiracy to rob, in his cell and exchanged more than 1,200 phone calls, including explicit video calls, with him in less than five months working at HMP Berwyn

She had been sentenced to 12 months in prison at Mold Crown Court in 2019 after admitting misconduct in a public office for enjoying steamy trysts with the convicted armed robber while working at the prison.

She was photographed kissing Razaq, who was serving a 12-year sentence for conspiracy to rob, in his cell and exchanged more than 1,200 phone calls, including explicit video calls, with him in less than five months working at HMP Berwyn.

MailOnline has learned that the criminology and psychology graduate has now embarked on a new career with a fashion company based in nearby Llangollen – and lives alone in a modern top-floor flat near Wrexham with her dog, a chihuahua cross.

When approached and asked about her criminal past this weeks she expressed frustration that her case had come back to public attention because of Gavan being jailed – and said she has tried hard to turn her life around.

Gunn told MailOnline: ‘I’ve moved on. It’s annoying this has all been dragged up again because another female guard has been jailed for the same offence.

‘I didn’t know her [Jennifer Gavan]. We never worked together.’ 

Ayshea Gunn (pictured) was photographed kissing inmate Razaq, who was serving a 12-year sentence for conspiracy to rob, in his cell and exchanged more than 1,200 phone calls in less than five months at the prison

The third disgraced Berwyn worker was Emily Watson – who was also photographed for the first time this week since her release. She has recently had a baby with a new partner.

Watson, 26, was jailed for an affair she had with John McGee, who was locked up at Berwyn for causing death by dangerous driving.

She performed a sex act on him twice – once on Christmas Day 2017 – and also had intercourse with him once in his cell.

Miss Watson had also sent explicit images and videos of herself to him on a phone that had been smuggled into the prison hidden inside a Playstation.

She now lives in a terraced house in Liverpool. She declined to discuss the latest case when approached.

But a relative said: ‘Emily knows she did was wrong and has accepted that. It was devastating the way things turned out.

‘But she’s had a baby girl now and she’s her priority now. She just wants to look after her baby and get on with her new life.

‘Emily has moved on with her life and wants to put everything behind her. She doesn’t even know the last woman at the prison. That is her old life.’

The third disgraced Berwyn worker was Emily Watson – who was also photographed for the first time this week since her release. She has recently had a baby with a new partner

Watson, 26, was jailed for an affair she had with John McGee, who was locked up at Berwyn for causing death by dangerous driving

HMP Berwyn, which houses Category C offenders, opened in 2017 at a cost of £250 million.

According to official guidance cells are instead called ‘rooms’, some prisoners are allowed phones and laptops in their cells to send emails and in 2019 it was reported that some prisoners would be given keys to their own cell as a reward for good behaviour.

The Prison Service said staff members who broke the rules would be punished but that

The most recent independent inspection into HMP Berwyn found security arrangements were good.

A Prison Service spokesman said: ‘The overwhelming majority of Prison Service staff are hardworking and dedicated and we will not hesitate to punish those who break the rules.

‘Over 500 members of staff at HMP Berwyn have undertaken corruption prevention training in the last 18 months and our enhanced security is protecting the prison against attempts to smuggle illicit items inside.’

The prison, previously dubbed ‘UK’s cushiest jail’ by an MP, gives inmates access to a wide range of education and training services, vocational qualifications, access to a full-sized sports hall, weights and fitness room and outdoor pitches, and several methods of being able to communicate with friends and family in the outside world.

The prison aims to help them ‘increase their chances of employment when they return to their communities.’

‘Based on a campus design, at HMP Berwyn’s centre is an industrial building housing 12 workshops where men make products such as furniture, or work in the on-site call centre or DHL distribution centre,’ the HM Prison and Probation Service says.

Jennifer Gavan is pictured with her partner and their son

Former Prison officer Ayshea Gunn who had a relationship with a prison in HMP Berwyn Prison, Wrexham and served time in 2019 for the offences

‘Individuals can earn qualifications in areas such as manufacturing operations and customer service, while working.

‘A state-of-the-art resettlement hub provides an opportunity for individuals to meet work coaches and access training to prepare them for employment. Training in a variety of trades and professions including bricklaying, joinery, plastering and industrial cleaning is available.

‘Plus, men have access to a range of vocational qualifications such as digital media, business enterprise, and information and communications technology (ICT).

‘HMP Berwyn’s men also have access to a broad programme of learning opportunities – from basic skills such as literacy, Welsh and numeracy, to vocational qualifications and higher learning.’

In 2019 it was reported that prisoners were to be given keys to their own cells as a reward for good behaviour.

Governors would be allowed to let prisoners lock their own cells for more privacy under a new incentive scheme, the Ministry of Justice said at the time. But officers can override the ‘privacy lock’ whenever they need to, The Times reported.

A Prison Service spokesperson today told MailOnline this week: ‘These keys can only be used to stop other prisoners getting into cells. They cannot be used to unlock cells when locked by staff and there is no requirement for staff to knock before entering.’

Prisoners have phones in their rooms and are able to make calls at any time – but phones do not accept incoming calls. Prisoners must make their own calls and have to buy credits to do this.

A general view of HMP Berwyn on March 15, 2017 in Wrexham, Wales. The mainly category C prison is one of the biggest jails in Europe capable of housing around to 2,100 inmates

They are allowed to phone anyone named on their list of friends and family which is checked by security when they first arrive.

Inmates are also able to exchange voicemails using the prison’s service.

‘Officers may listen to phone calls as a way of preventing crime and helping keep people safe,’ the government website says.

Video calling friends and family is even an option – with visitors who are added to the approved ‘contact list’.

Prisoners are also able to send and receive emails – which are monitored by staff – with friends and family able to attach photos for an additional charge.

HMP Berwyn has a service which allows people to send prisoners money. They can also receive a clothing parcel one or twice a year depending on their sentence time and behaviour. These parcels must be given to staff during a visit and are opened and checked by officers.

Friends and families of prisoners are allowed to send them books directly or can order books from approved retailers, which source and send the books on to prisoners.

The 2,100 men who live at the prison are put in either single or shared rooms, which all have a shower, toilet, sink and a phone.

Each prisoner is given a laptop for making applications, ordering things from the canteen and booking visits. They can also use it to access a hub which has educational materials, information, news and entertainment.

Prisoners have access to a full-sized sports hall, weights and fitness room and outdoor pitches.

There is a fitness programme which includes team sports and classes – which can lead to accredited qualifications.

Berwyn Prison has a diverse, multi-faith chaplaincy team providing support to prisoners and all religious festivals are catered for.

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