Bethany Dent-Reynolds, a probation officer who engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a convicted murderer at the UK’s highest-security facility, has been sentenced to eight months in prison after admitting misconduct in a public office.

During the trial, the court heard that Dent-Reynolds first met Kieran Robinson while working at HMP Belmarsh, a prison designed for the highest-risk offenders in the country. The court also heard that she exchanged sexual messages with Robinson following their initial meeting. However, it was not until Dent-Reynolds left the Thamesmead facility and started a new job at HMP Brixton that their illicit relationship began.

Robinson was 22 years old when he was charged alongside his cousin, 27-year-old Sean Robinson, for the murder of 18-year-old Donnell Rhule in West Dulwich, South London. During their 2021 trial, the court heard that “bad trouble started quickly” after the Robinson cousins arrived on the estate on 8 July 2020. Prosecutor Timothy Cray QC said that Kieran was even heard shouting “we’re going to M you”, with “M” in this context meaning murder.

Robinson first contacted Bethany Dent-Reynolds via social media, and she later visited him multiple times in Belmarsh prison, and several more times when he was moved to HMP Lowdham Grange between February and May 2024. Dent-Reynolds, who is described by barrister Chantelle Stocks as previously being of “impeccable good character”, even used a probation computer to access restricted details about his murder case, sharing her discoveries with him and telling him his co-defendants “all stuck it on you.”

Prosecutor Sam Willis told the court:

“On 12 June 2024, Kieran Robinson’s cell was searched. A letter from the defendant was recovered, as well as a diary containing the defendant’s address, mobile phone number, and Instagram username.

“The defendant’s mobile telephone was downloaded and examined. Numerous WhatsApp messages between the defendant and Kieran Robinson were found on it, including messages of a sexual nature, images of both the defendant and Robinson, and a message from Robinson asking her for a ‘favour’.”

After her prohibited research, Dent-Reynolds described the case as “f***ing ridiculous” and said she simply wanted him “out” of prison. Robinson responded, “I just want to be with you.”

In defence of Dent-Reynolds’ behaviour, Stocks added: “This is not a case where there has been any suggestion of in-person physical sexual contact between the pair.

For the most part they exchanged sweet nothings that had minimal impact.” Robinson was jailed for the murder of Donnell Rhule (pictured) in West Dulwich, south London. Kieran Robinson and his cousin Sean Robinson chased their victim "down alleyways and across streets." Mr Rhule died from a single knife wound to the heart in July 2020.