Pete Nichols, 47, corruption prevention manager at Wormwood Scrubs prison, has been accused of receiving funds from established criminal groups for sensitive information in startling revelations. Nichols is one of the highest ranking prison officials ever to face criminal proceedings.
His wife Jessica Nichols, 41, a governor – one of the senior officials – of young offenders institution HMP Feltham has also been accused of the same criminal conduct.
Pete Nichols is charged with two counts of causing a computer to perform a function to secure/enable unauthorised access to a program/data held in a computer in the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, contrary to section 1(1) and (3) of the Computer Misuse Act 1990, between November 7 and December 15, 2021.
Additionally, Mr Nichols was also found with cocaine, so he has also been charged with a further count of possession of cocaine at Chertsey on December 14th 2021. In connection with the investigation, a noteworthy mention was that he refused to provide the 6 digit pin to his Apple iPhone.
Mrs Nichols has the same charges, with one further computer misuse offence at Feltham on November 8th 2021.
The pair applied for their addresses to be suppressed for ‘safety purposes’ however Deputy District Judge Mark Studdert rejected it. They have been unconditionally bailed to appear at Southwark Crown Court next month where more information is likely to be available.
A source said: “This has been taken very seriously. It has sent shockwaves through the system.”
Pete is often quoted by the prison service for their efforts to tackle corruption.