Arsonist whose affair with jail teacher was exposed when her husband found 107 sex texts


The husband of a prison teacher exposed her affair with an inmate after finding 107 messages between the pair on a secret mobile phone SIM card, a court heard today. 

Melissa Frost, 36, exchanged letters, phone calls and text messages with Darryl Young during their relationship at Wayland Prison near Thetford, Norfolk.

Her husband became suspicious that she was having an affair, possibly with a prison officer, and using a second mobile phone to contact her lover.

Norwich Crown Court heard how he searched their home and discovered the SIM card which he put into his own mobile phone, so he could read the messages sent and received by his wife.

Prison teacher Melissa Frost (left) pictured walking to Norwich Crown Court. She was jailed for four months after she admitted having a relationship with an inmate at Wayland Prison, Norfolk

Prison teacher Melissa Frost (left) pictured walking to Norwich Crown Court. She was jailed for four months after she admitted having a relationship with an inmate at Wayland Prison, Norfolk

Arsonist Darryl Young (pictured) who was serving a five year and four month sentence shared sexually explicit text messages and letters with Frost, which were found by her husband

Arsonist Darryl Young (pictured) who was serving a five year and four month sentence shared sexually explicit text messages and letters with Frost, which were found by her husband

Arsonist Darryl Young (pictured) who was serving a five year and four month sentence shared sexually explicit text messages and letters with Frost, which were found by her husband 

The messages sent over two months in 2017 included expressions of ‘loving and longing’ between his wife and the inmate, saying how they were missing each other and hoping to be together soon, said prosecutor Martin Ivory. 

Frost’s husband immediately reported what he found to the prison’s deputy governor who began an investigation in December 2017.

The mother-of-two made a ‘full and frank confession’ that she had been in a relationship with Young, 24, who set fire to the home of a mother and her two young daughters in a revenge attack.

Maidstone Crown Court heard how he carried out an arson attack on the home of young mother Scenty Lamb in Strood, Kent, on June 12, 2016.

He filled a can with £1.49 of fuel from a petrol station, poured it over the front door of her first floor flat and then set it ablaze in the early hours as she slept inside with her two daughters aged five and one.

She woke just after midnight to the sound of smoke detectors and saw smoke billowing under her front door.

When she opened her door, she saw flames in the porch area, which she bravely extinguished with pans of water.

Miss Lamb, her daughters and a friend staying overnight fled, and were unharmed but shaken. She was targeted by Young because she had allegedly been involved in a minor row with his girlfriend at the time.

Frost insisted that the pair had only indulged in kisses and cuddles, rather than full sexual activity.

Married Frost, 36, of North Walsham, Norfolk, (pictured on social media) admitted misconduct in a public office and wept in the dock as she was jailed for four months

Married Frost, 36, of North Walsham, Norfolk, (pictured on social media) admitted misconduct in a public office and wept in the dock as she was jailed for four months

Married Frost, 36, of North Walsham, Norfolk, (pictured on social media) admitted misconduct in a public office and wept in the dock as she was jailed for four months

Letters between them were recovered, along with evidence that he had called her from an official prison phone using his allocation of minutes for private calls, said Mr Ivory.

One of the letters was written in the names of Frost’s two children, now aged five and seven, in which they thanked the inmate ‘for making Mummy happy.’

The letters made clear that they were talking about having more sexual activity on the inmate’s release from prison. 

Mr Ivory said that Frost worked as a supply teacher at the prison on a zero hours contract, and had become friendly with the prisoner in July 2017, and they later began ‘conversing.’

He added: ‘Just to make things crystal clear, it is not the case that the prisoner was using an illicit phone. The contact was over the prison phone.

He added: ‘She felt she was in love with him at that time, but she was not quite sure of her feelings for him at the time of the interview.

Frost's husband immediately reported what he found to the prison's deputy governor who began an investigation in December 2017

Frost's husband immediately reported what he found to the prison's deputy governor who began an investigation in December 2017

Frost’s husband immediately reported what he found to the prison’s deputy governor who began an investigation in December 2017

‘She denied any sexual conduct, but was aware of her responsibilities for security being as she was a prison key holder. She had not discussed what was going on with any other prisoner or prison staff.

‘At the time this was going on, there were difficulties in her private life.’

Frost of North Walsham, Norfolk, admitted misconduct in a public office and wept in the dock as she was jailed for four months.

Judge Stephen Holt told her: ‘This sort of offending goes to the heart of the prison system. It opens up a prison to the danger of blackmail and contraband entering the prison system, which causes so much damage.

‘I and most people have considerable sympathy for you, but this court has to give a clear message that anyone working in the prison system must expect an immediate custodial sentence for this type of offence.’

Judge Holt said he considered the letter from Frost’s children to the prisoner was an aggravating factor in the case.

The court heard that Frost had now lost her career as a teacher, but had got a new job and was in a new relationship.

David Stewart, defending, said she had made full admissions and suffered stress, worry and sleepless nights while waiting for the case to come to court.

He added: ‘There is no suggestion of illicit substances or items being brought into the prison which would compromise security. She was going through a rough patch at home with her former husband.

‘But bearing in mind the animosity when they separated, he clearly thinks a lot of her, and speaks of her affectionately, and praises her mothering skills.

‘You have to ask what the defendant has done. She had a relationship, but it was not of a sexual nature.’