Court raises inmate sentence for sexual smuggling with guard

A prisoner who filmed himself having sex with a teenage prison officer and leaked the footage online has had his sentence increased by five years following a successful appeal by prosecutors. Declan Winkless, 31, had his original three-year, four-month sentence for prison smuggling and misconduct quashed by the Court of Appeal on June 30, which ruled it was unduly lenient.

Winkless, who is already serving an 11-year sentence for aggravated burglary, pleaded guilty to seven offences at Northampton Crown Court in January. The charges stemmed from an inappropriate relationship with then-18-year-old prison officer Alicia Novas, which began in November 2024. Authorities said Winkless recorded their sexual encounters and shared the videos on Snapchat.

The three-year sentence for former officer Alicia Novas, now 20, remains unchanged. Novas began her job at HMP Five Wells in Wellingborough on July 1, 2024. Shortly after starting, she provided Winkless with her personal phone number, initiating direct communication. The relationship escalated, with Novas smuggling cannabis, tobacco, and two mobile phones into HMP Five Wells and HMP Peterborough for the inmate. She also passed him...