Prison officer, 29, who had baby after having an affair with son of Ghanaian High Court judge while he served life for murder avoids jail

• Kathryn Trevor, 29, had a sexual relationship with a convicted murderer in jail
• David Quartey is serving a life sentence for stabbing his guardian to death 
• Trevor had Quartey’s child after having sex with him in his cell for over a year
• The prison officer was sentenced to 20 months in jail, suspended for two years 

A former prison officer has been handed a suspended prison sentence after a relationship with the son of a Ghanian High Court Judge serving life for murder led to her having his child. 

Kathryn Trevor, 29, from Kent, was in a relationship with a Ghanaian national David Quartey at HMP Maidstone between February 21 2020 and September 25 2021. 

A court heard Trevor had sex with Quartey in his cell while he was locked up in the prison in Kent, and gave birth to their son in August last year. 

She used an alias to contact Quartey while not on duty and was sharing information with his family abroad. 

Quartey had an illicitly-held mobile phone on which she was saved in his contacts list as ‘My True Love’. 

Trevor was also aware the prisoner was in possession of the illegal mobile phone and contacted him on it, rather than reporting it to prison security. 

She was said to have ‘fallen under his spell’ a year after she had returned to work following allegations of an affair with another inmate.

Prison officer Kathryn Trevor, 29, had a relationship with the inmate for a year and a half, resulting in her having his child 

David Quartey was sentenced to life in jail in 2008 for stabbing his legal guardian to death 

When her relationship with Quartey was being investigated, she told a colleague she became ‘too emotionally-involved’ with prisoners.

Quartey, now in his early 30s, had been jailed for life in August 2008, after stabbing his guardian, consultant paediatrician Dr Victoria Anyetei, 54, more than 50 times on the driveway of her home in Dartford, Kent, in 2007. 

This amounted to wilful misconduct and neglect of duty in public office. 

Prosecutor Sarah Lindop told Maidstone Crown Court Trevor was working on the wing where Quartey was housed when the category C prison was alerted in October 2020 that she was having an affair with an inmate.

Miss Lindop said that due to the previous allegations in 2019, which led to Trevor being sacked but then reinstated after an appeal found there was insufficient evidence to support those claims, intelligence suggesting another sexual relationship was taken ‘particularly seriously’.

She then informed her bosses in March last year that she was pregnant and was taken off Quartey’s wing. However, this led to his permitted calls being monitored to see if they were in contact.

Miss Lindop said they were translated and revealed that his family in Ghana, including his father David Quartey Snr, was acting as ‘something of a go-between’ for Quartey and Trevor, who passed on information to them, including a phone number on which her inmate lover could contact her.

The pair had sex in Quartey’s cell in HMP Maidstone (pictured) and communicated using his illicit mobile phone 

Trevor was charged with two counts of wilfully neglecting to perform her duty/wilful misconduct while holding public office on March 3, and on April 29 she pleaded guilty to both counts at Maidstone Crown Court. 

She appeared at the same court on Monday where she was sentenced to a total of 20 months imprisonment, suspended for two years. 

Judge Catherine Moore told her she had ‘narrowly escaped’ being sent to prison solely due to the impact such a punishment would have on her young son.

‘In most cases, almost inevitably, there are factors which indicate it would not be appropriate to suspend a sentence in a case such as this,’ she told the sobbing mum.

‘Not only is there a need to punish but also to deter others who seek to exploit the position of power they hold over prisoners.

‘I make it very plain that were it not for the position of your son and the age of your son, the sentence would have been immediate custody,’ she told the sobbing mum.

Detective Constable Nick Gossage, of the South East Regional Prison Intelligence Team (SERPIT) counter corruption team, said: ‘Trevor was employed to ensure the safety and good order of the prison she worked in. 

‘Her behaviour over an extended period of time undermined this, putting her colleagues and the prisoners at risk. 

‘Her conviction should serve as a reminder to those that hold a position of power and trust that it is not to be abused and that action will be taken against them if they act in this way.’

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