A disgraced prison manager has escaped a jail sentence after he was caught kissing a female inmate.

Dad-of-two Stephen Harris was employed at HMP East Sutton, in Workhourse Road, Sutton Valence, near Maidstone, when he began having romantic tristes with inmate Ella Ward.

Secret cameras were set up at the female open prison which caught Harris, of Farleigh Lane, Maidstone, kissing and touching the inmate in 2020.

Maidstone Crown Court heard the prison authorities regarded the married officer's conduct had undermined confidence in prison staff and "their ability to behave impartially."

But after admitting a charge of misconduct in a public office, the 56-year-old escaped with a nine-month jail sentence, suspended for a year.

Prosecutor Oliver Kirk told how Harris had "wilfully misconducted himself by engaging in an intimate relationship with a female prisoner.

Harris, who initially denied the offence until shown CCTV footage, later admitted in a written statement he had "for a period of 10 days engaged in an inappropriate relationship with Ella Ward".

'Women in your care were vulnerable and you should have been above reproach...'

He said the relationship involved kissing and cuddling, but there were no sexual interactions between them.

Mr Kirk said Harris had worked at the prison near Sutton Valence, which housed 100 inmates, for 15 years.

"Complaints were made to those in authority about the defendant's behaviour and as a consequence observations were kept on him," he explained.

"And ultimately a closed-circuit TV camera was installed in his office; which recorded on a number of days his interactions with the prisoner Ella Ward."

The cameras caught him on September 8, 2020, sitting at his desk receiving a kiss on his cheek from Ms Ward.

The next day he held her hand and the following day, the two kissed for 20 seconds as he took something from her hand and she moved her hand to his groin area.

On September 14 the two held hands for "longer than 10 minutes" while he was again sitting at his desk and as Ms Ward left the office, Harris "brushed her buttocks with his hand", the prosecutor said.

The couple then kissed on the September 15 and 18 and the footage was passed to police who arrested him as he left the prison.

Mr Kirk said: "At first he denied he had behaved inappropriately, claiming people had it in for him.

"It was only after he saw the footage that he accepted his misconduct, saying the camera does not lie."

As a result, Harris quit his job and his marriage broke down in the aftermath.

Judge Shani Barnes said what the prison manager had done "could have had devastating consequences."

She added: "Women in your care were vulnerable and you should have been above reproach."

Harris was also ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work for the community and pay £350 court costs.