Prison librarian 'groped two inmates and boasted about swingers' parties and group sex', court hears

A prison librarian who boasted about her sexual exploits grabbed inmates' penises, slapped their bottoms and exposed a man's genitals, a court has heard. To her colleagues, Sharon Mawdsley appeared to be professional.

Yet when alone with prisoners at HMP Kirkham, in Lancashire, prosecutors say her behaviour was entirely different. Preston Crown Court heard yesterday (April 8) that the 46-year-old swapped private calls and messages with an inmate named Stephen Morrell.

She has admitted misconduct in a public office in connection with unauthorised contact with Mr Morrell, after a phone was found in Mr Morrell's cell. But she denies six counts of sexual assault relating to two other prisoners who cannot be named for legal reasons, Lancs Live reports.

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Inmates said Mawdsley, of St Luke's Road, Blackpool, bragged of swingers' parties, lesbian sex and group sex in front of her husband. But the prosecution says her behaviour went further than that.

Opening the trial, David Bentley, prosecuting, told the jury Mawdsley was employed as a library assistant at the prison on Freckleton Road, Kirkham, from May 2017. On Friday July 6, 2018, the library manager Sarah Fleming noticed "whispered discussions" among inmates in the library.

When challenged, two prisoners said they believed Mawdsley was having an inappropriate relationship with Morrell. The men were afraid they would be wrongly linked to the rumours and would be "shipped out" of the open prison - losing their day release privileges.

In the investigation that followed, a prison chaplain and a probation officer confirmed one man said he had been sexually assaulted by Mawdsley. The chaplain said the inmate told him Mawdsley was "like an animal" and said the prisoner was "in a bit of a state" when he told him what had happened.

Probation officer Kelly Baker said the same prisoner was "a completely different person" when she saw him after his release from prison. She said he was "very emotional" and described being sexually assaulted by Mawdsley on a number of occasions. He also said he was aware other inmates had been assaulted by the librarian.

On September 12, 2018, the former prisoner reported the alleged sexual assaults to the police and an investigation was launched. He said she was open about her sexual preferences which made him feel uncomfortable. She went on to make flirtatious comments, slap his bottom and grab his penis over his clothing, he alleged.

A second inmate gave a statement to the police on September 25, 2018. He said Mawdsley "changed into a completely different person" when other staff members were not working. He said she spoke in a "highly sexualised and crude manner" and saw her telling one inmate: "Show us your d***", Mr Bentley said.

On another occasion, he alleged Mawdsley pulled a chair up beside him and sat with her legs open squeezing the top of his thigh towards his crotch. He said over a period of five to seven weeks, Mawdsley molested him on around 10 occasions.

Each time he told her "no" and "f*** off", he said. He also said he had seen Mawdsley pull the other inmate's pants down, exposing his penis, and after that he never saw the man wearing joggers again.

Mawdsley denies sexually assaulting either of the men. When questioned by police, she said she "did not find either of them remotely attractive". She said due to the humiliation she suffered as a result of the allegations she would not be answering further questions during a police interview.

However she later pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office in connection with the phone found in Steven Morrell's cell. Proceeding