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A former prison officer who had sex with an inmate has been filmed mocking her ankle tag.
Linda De Sousa Abreu, 30, pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office in July after having sex with a male inmate in a cell at HMP Wandsworth, and is due to be sentenced in November.
Following her plea at Isleworth Crown Court, she was granted conditional bail which imposed a curfew, monitored by an electronic tag worn around her ankle.
A recent video filmed at a daytime club in Fulham, however, shows De Sousa Abreu appearing to mock her ankle tag, prompting critics to accuse her of not taking her punishment seriously.
In the video, the former prison officer can be seen lifting her foot onto a table, showing off the tag. With friends laughing in the background, she says of the tracking device: “It looks good. Very mindful. Very cutesy. Very demure.”
De Sousa Abreu’s description of the ankle tag as “demure” is a reference to a recent viral trend popular with Gen Z. Popularised by influencer Joolie Lebron, the term has spawned thousands of similar videos using the turn of phrase to poke fun at expectations of female behaviour – particularly in the workplace.
De Sousa Abreu’s actions have prompted a furious reaction, with an anonymous source telling The Sun that she has “disgraced herself in a public office and now she has no care whatsoever for the punishment.”
The source added: “Clearly if she thinks her ankle tag is like a piece of jewellery, she didn’t think it was a big deal.”
De Sousa Abreu, who is Brazilian, was originally arrested in June at Heathrow Airport after a video emerged of her having sex with an inmate at HMP Wandsworth, where she worked as an officer.
The footage was taken on illegally held phones and circulated among inmates.
Her Portuguese passport remains in police possession, and she is not allowed to apply for any international travel documents.
In court, De Sousa Abreu was described by Gayathri Yogarajah, her lawyer, as a “young mother” and “a person of good character”.
She will be sentenced on November 7.
Source Agencies