Serco dock worker from Dagenham jailed for flirty calls with prisoner

A security officer who shared flirty phone calls with a convicted rapist serving time at one of Britain’s most notorious prisons has been jailed herself.

Serco worker Yasemin Ozyukselen sobbed as she was sentenced to 10 months in prison on Monday at Southwark Crown Court after admitting two counts of misconduct in a public office.

The 24-year-old, of Oval Road South, Dagenham, received calls from Shahed Ahmed, 22, over the course of 15 months while he was held at HMP Belmarsh.

During those conversations he described her as “darling” “gorgeous” and “sexy”, and she agreed to meet him when he got out. She also engaged in inappropriate phone contact with three prisoners at other jails between November 2011 and January 2012.

Ozyukselen initially worked as an officer transporting prisoners to court and later became a dock officer.

She was arrested on June 27, 2012 at Barkingside Magistrates’ Court with two mobile phones which she had used to make contact illicitly with the prisoners.

Ozyukselen’s lawyer claimed she suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after a prisoner’s attempted escape from a van left her with facial injuries.

But judge Andrew Goymer told her: “The relationship with Ahmed did not become sexual but it was a relationship of rather close emotional involvement that was quite inappropriate.”

In interview Ozyukselen insisted she didn’t know Ahmed but later admitted the charges.