A FORMER prison guard has testified in court on charges of engaging in an improper relationship with a prisoner.
Joanne Hunter, 27, is accused of conspiring to engage in official misconduct after it was claimed that she had the relationship while employed at Salford’s HMP Forest Bank.
Also, she is accused of bringing or transporting cannabis and an unauthorised mobile phone into the prison in December 2020.
Details of the charges were read to Hunter as she arrived at Manchester & Salford Magistrates’ Court wearing a black top and skirt.
She made no appeals and merely spoke to confirm her name, address, and birthdate.
After her charges were listed, her parents viewed the proceedings from the gallery.
The next scheduled appearance for Hunter, a resident of Bury, Greater Manchester, is a pre-trial hearing at Manchester Crown Court on March 23.
She worked as a jail officer between December 2018 and December 2020, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Additionally, it indicates that she obtained a master’s degree in applied social and
