From Magazine Note to Career Destruction
A former prison officer has broken her silence about a forbidden relationship with a convicted rapist that shattered her career and raised serious questions about security within British prisons.
Cherrie-Ann Austin-Saddington, who worked at HMP The Verne in Dorset, became involved with inmate Bradley Trengrove in a liaison that would ultimately lead to criminal convictions for both parties and expose vulnerabilities in the prison system.
The Dangerous Liaison Unfolds
During the summer of 2022, the 29-year-old officer was handed what appeared to be an innocent magazine by Trengrove. Concealed within its pages was a piece of paper containing his secret mobile phone number.
Security cameras captured Austin-Saddington contemplating her next move. "I was thinking, do I report it? Do I not report it? ... I wasn't thinking, I'll text him," she later told The Guardian.
Instead of reporting the incident, she concealed the paper, a decision that marked the beginning of a dangerous relationship. Gradually, she and Trengrove - a convicted rapist - began exchanging messages, phone calls, and eventually meeting within the prison's workshop spaces.
Trengrove worked as a maintenance worker, providing opportunities for them to be alone together. They would locate areas hidden from cameras and colleagues where they could communicate and engage physically.
While Austin-Saddington maintains they were intimate "perhaps four or five times in total," Trengrove claimed the number was between 30 to 40 encounters.
Manipulation and Consequences
Despite knowing Trengrove was a convicted sex offender found guilty of rape, Austin-Saddington continued the relationship. He convinced her his crime was fabricated, alleging he was convicted after a relationship at age 15 was misrepresented.
In reality, Trengrove had been labelled "exceptionally dangerous" when sentenced to 13 years in 2015 for repeatedly raping a teenage girl and engaging in sexual activity with a minor. Following his conviction, twenty other women came forward alleging he had assaulted them.
The relationship intensified as Trengrove's family reached out to Austin-Saddington. He declared his love, spoke of building a future together, and even discussed living with her children. When she fell pregnant, he pledged commitment, but following a miscarriage, she claimed he became controlling, monitoring her calls and demanding updates.
The affair unravelled in May 2023 when Austin-Saddington was discovered attempting to smuggle a Calpol syringe to Trengrove, which he reportedly intended her to use for insemination with his sperm.
Aftermath and Wake-Up Call for Prison Security
Trengrove was moved to another prison while Austin-Saddington resigned the same day. In May 2025, both were found guilty - Trengrove for encouraging or assisting in misconduct in public office among other offences, and Austin-Saddington for misconduct in public office and smuggling a prohibited item.
She received a suspended sentence, while he had an additional two years added to his existing 13-year prison term.
Austin-Saddington's life took another devastating turn when, in February 2024, she suffered a spinal stroke, leaving her paralysed from the chest down. The judge considered this during sentencing, suspending her two-year prison term.
"I know I didn't get prison time, but I am locked inside my body for the rest of my life," she said.
The Ministry of Justice confirmed that 64 prison staff had been recommended for dismissal due to inappropriate relationships with inmates between March 2019 and April 2024. This figure likely underestimates the true scale as it doesn't include those who resigned or evaded scrutiny.
During her training, Austin-Saddington remembered being warned: "They pick the target, then they try to get close. They ask you to do little things that then build up to bigger things." She now believes Trengrove exploited her by providing compliments, attention and support when she felt alone.
Now bound to a wheelchair and dealing with public humiliation, Austin-Saddington is striving to turn her narrative into something positive. She has enrolled in a recovery service and collaborates with a charity for survivors of sexual trauma.
