Convicted sex offender Paul Young read poems to Livvy Edney and discussed whisking her away to Venice
17:08, 24 Apr 2026Updated 17:15, 24 Apr 2026
Livvy Edney
A female prison officer at HMP Channings Wood has been jailed for having a romantic affair with a dangerous inmate.
Livvy Edney, 44, regularly declared her love for convicted sex offender Paul Young while working as his supervising officer, a court heard.
In return, Young read her poems, discussed whisking her away to Venice and asked for photos of her boobs.
When the prison got suspicious of their relationship, Young was transferred to another jail. But the pair continued to break the rules by chatting on the phone.
After the affair was rumbled, investigators found a Valentine’s Day card in Young’s cell with a sexually explicit message from Edney.
The mum, of Grenville Avenue, Torquay, pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office and was jailed for six months at Exeter Crown Court. The judge said: “Offences of this sort risk undermining public trust in the system.”
Edney became Young’s key supervisor in 2023, the court heard. Prison staff became so suspicious about the pair that Young, who was serving a Public Protection sentence for a serious sexual offence, was transferred to HMP The Verne.
Edney appeared ‘very concerned’ about Young and offered to clear out his cell, said prosecutor Tom Bradnock.
The pair managed to keep in touch by conducting a three-way telephone conversation involving Young’s mum, who was a permitted contact.
During the calls, which were monitored and recorded, Edney pretended to be Young’s long-lost friend, Jules. The calls would last 30 minutes and ‘demonstrated clearly an inappropriate relationship’ between Edney and Paul Young, said the prosecutor.
“They declared their love for each other,” said Mr Bradnock. “Paul Young would frequently reading out poems he’d written for the defendant.”
They also chatted about dates after his release and the possibility of a trip to Venice. They talked about items of clothing they had previously exchanged, so they could sleep and absorb each other’s scent, the court heard.
There were multiple references to sexual behaviour and coordinated masturbation sessions.
“The prosecution can’t say based on the transcripts of the recordings whether it was a physical relationship,” said Mr Bradnock. “But clearly it was within their contemplation.”
The last conversation was on February 11, 2023. Edney was arrested just under a month later. Analysis of her phone revealed searches for the defendant and about IPP sentences.
Young’s cell was searched, and a Valentine’s card with two penguins on the front was found. The message inside said: “Roses are red, violets are blue, I’ll make you scream with my strap-on inside you.”
Edney initially denied doing anything wrong. The court heard she had a troubled childhood, had ADHD and had only just returned to work at the time of the offence after a period of sickness.
She was relatively inexperienced as a prison officer, but she knew it was against the rules to behave inappropriately toward a prisoner.
The court heard it wasn’t the first time Young had enjoyed a relationship with a prison officer, and this had intrigued Edney. She denied the affair was sexual.
Judge James Patrick said: “There is no evidence of that but plainly your relationship was highly sexual even if not physical.”
Detective Sergeant Will Martel of the SWROCU, said: “Edney went to significant lengths to conceal the relationship, knowing that it was a serious breach of her position.
“Corruption will not be tolerated within our prisons. Working closely with HMPPS, staff across the prison estate and wider policing partners, we will continue to root out misconduct of this nature.”