A prison officer has been jailed for 21 weeks after being found with indecent images on a phone he had illegally taken into work.

Jonathan Lever, 36, of West End Lane, Rossington, Doncaster, was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court last week.

The court heard that Lever entered HMP Lindholme near Doncaster on Monday 7 September 2020 with his mobile phone and charging cable in his bag. Police were in attendance and further phones were recovered from his car.

Following the download content on his devices, officers discovered a number of extreme pornography images and videos.

South Yorkshire Police’s Prison Anti-Corruption Unit arrested and interviewed Lever and he was later charged with bringing a prohibited article into prison, possessing an indecent photograph of a child, and three counts of possessing extreme pornographic images.

Detective Sergeant Gareth Gent, who led the investigation, said: “The vast majority of people working in our prisons are hard-working and professional officers whose primary concern is the safeguarding of inmates and colleagues. Any officers that fall short of that and are found to have committed a crime will be dealt with.

“This case is an example of one of the many processes developed in partnership with our prisons to allow us to identify criminality and deal with those responsible.”

Lever had admitted all five charges at a previous hearing at Sheffield Crown Court. He was sentenced to 21 weeks in prison and placed on the Sex Offender Register for seven years.

Prison staff or visitors who require the use of a mobile phone must be covered by a specific authorisation.

Yorkshire prison officer, 36, jailed after bringing a mobile phone into jail and possessing 'extreme pornography'