A former prison officer from Weymouth has been given a suspended sentence after admitting misconduct in public office. Cherri Ann Austin Saddington formed a relationship with an inmate at HMP The Verne in Portland. The contact began after she was given a phone number and failed to report it, leading to ongoing communication and meetings. She was later arrested after trying to bring a syringe into the prison. The court heard she now lives with serious health issues following a spinal stroke.
A former prison officer from Weymouth has received a suspended sentence after admitting misconduct following a relationship with an inmate at HMP The Verne.
Cherri-Ann Austin-Saddington began contact with prisoner Bradley Trengrove in August 2022 after he passed her a note containing a mobile phone number, which she did not report, later engaging in regular calls and messages that developed into a relationship involving sexual encounters inside the prison.
Trengrove had been serving a 13-year sentence for rape and sexual activity with a child, and evidence later showed the contact continued even after he was transferred, including attempts by Austin-Saddington to visit him at another prison.
In May 2023, she was arrested after attempting to take a syringe into the prison during a visit, with investigators stating it was intended to facilitate artificial insemination, and she resigned from her role soon after the relationship came to light.
In February 2024, she suffered a spinal stroke that left her paralysed from the chest down, and when sentenced in May 2025 to two years in prison, this was suspended due to her medical condition, later saying she felt “locked inside my body for the rest of my life.”
She has since expressed regret, describing how she felt misled during the relationship, and said she hopes to support others in future after working with a domestic abuse organisation.
