A married HMP Wandsworth officer who romped with an inmate on camera ‘was having problems in her marriage’ when the x-rated clip was filmed.
Linda De Sousa Abreu, 30, admitted to having sex with serial burglar Linton Weirich in his cell at the scandal-hit jail – but says she only agreed to take part after lags threatened to expose her career as an amateur porn star.
Close friend Hayley, who only wanted to give her first name, told that De Sousa Abreu had allegedly been going through a ‘very hard time’ at work, claiming prisoners knew her husband’s name and about her OnlyFans account.
Hayley said the alleged ‘pressure’ and ‘coercion’ had a knock on effect on DeSousa Abreu’s marriage around the time the scandalous footage was recorded.
De Sousa Abreu, who claims she has since ‘found faith in God’, pleaded guilty to one count of misconduct in a public office at a hearing at Isleworth Crown Court on Monday.
‘Linda was going through a very hard time at work because of all this. And she was also having problems in her marriage,’ Hayley told .
‘She’s absolutely devastated by what happened and is full of remorse. It’s absolutely devastated her and she’s trying to rebuild her life.’
The ex-prison officer, who holds Portuguese citizenship, is still married to her husband with whom she shares an eight-year-old daughter.
Hayley continued: ‘They’re a lovely couple and working hard to save their marriage. It’s not been easy for them.
‘People are trying to make out that Linda is some kind of sex monster but that’s not the case at all.’
Her close friend is adamant the circumstances surrounding the incident will become public when De Sousa returns to court for sentencing in November.
She said: ‘There’s a lot more to this story than people think. Some of the prisoners had got hold of Linda’s personal details.
‘They knew her address, her husband’s name and that she had an OnlyFans account. She was put under a lot of pressure and there was a lot of coercion involved.’
De Sousa Abreu lives on a sprawling council estate in Fulham near where Weirich grew up.
Hayley added: ‘It wasn’t hard for the other prisoners to get Linda’s details and find out things about her personal life.’
‘She is a very kind and caring person who has made a terrible mistake. We all get things wrong in life and people shouldn’t be so quick to judge her.’
The encounter on June 27 was filmed by another inmate and went viral on social media. later revealed that De Sousa Abreu has appeared on TV swinging programs and has an OnlyFans account.
She was subsequently identified by HMP Wandsworth staff and was arrested by the Metropolitan Police at Heathrow Airport attempting to fly to Madrid.
She telephoned the prison to say she was not returning to work and that her husband would return her equipment.
Hayley also revealed that since her arrest, De Sousa Abreu has ‘found faith in God’ which is providing her ‘with a lot of comfort.’
The explicit clip begins with her dressed in full uniform and performing a sex act on Weirich, who has a pregnant girlfriend, at the Category A jail.
It then shows her having sex with the serial thief while his cellmate films on a mobile phone. Footage of the cell shows a TV and piles of clothes heaped over a bunk bed.
The friend who is smoking while recording says: ‘Guys we’ve made history, this is what I’m telling you.’
Her radio, left on a side table, crackles constantly with her colleagues heard on the other channels above the din of the other prisoners on the landing unaware of what is going on in the cell.
At one point, someone appears to try to come into the cell, at which the man filming, can be heard saying to the person on the other side of the door ‘give me a minute, one second.’
The prisoner filming tells his friend to carry on and then pans the camera round momentarily and, grinning, says: ‘This is how we roll in Wandsworth.’
During her hearing at Isleworth Crown Court, Judge Martin Edmunds, KC, the Recorder of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, bailed De Sousa Abreu ahead of her November 7 sentencing hearing.
He also ordered a pre-sentence report and will hear any mitigating circumstances before passing sentence.
De Sousa Abreu is subject to ‘stringent’ bail conditions. Her Portuguese passport must remain in police possession, and she is not allowed to apply for any international travel documents.
She is barred from entering any UK travel ports and the judge also made her subject to an electronically monitored curfew between 7pm and 9am each day.
Her lawyer Gayathri Yogarajah earlier described her a ‘young mother’ and ‘a person of good character’.
Tetteh Turkson, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: ‘This was a shocking breach of the public’s trust. De Sousa was clearly an enthusiastic participant who wrongly thought she would avoid responsibility.
‘The CPS recognises there is no excuse for any prison officer who conducts themselves in such a manner, and we will never hesitate to prosecute those who abuse their position of power.
‘After working closely with the Metropolitan Police to build the strongest possible case, De Sousa had no option but accept she was guilty. She will now rightly face the consequences of her actions.’