Murderer has jail sentence extended after breaking officer's jaw at Cambridgeshire's HMP Whitemoor

A convicted murderer has had four years added to his sentence for breaking a prison officer’s jaw.

Charlie White, 25, has been described as ‘cowardly’ after he attacked the prison officer from behind at HMP Whitemoor, near March, on 23 September 2022.

White, who was jailed for a minimum of 16 years for murdering a homeless man, threw a barrage of punches at the man that knocked him to the floor. As the victim attempted to get up White tried to knee him in the face.

Both men then fell to the floor, where White proceeded to wrap his arms around the victim’s neck, causing him to struggle to breathe. Other officers arrived at the scene and it took several of them to loosen his grip around the victim’s throat.

The man was taken to hospital where he underwent surgery to have plates inserted into a broken jaw. He also sustained nerve damage as well as fractures to his cheek bone and eye socket.

The attack followed an incident on 7 June 2022 where the victim had conducted a routine search of White’s cell with a colleague. During the search they found and confiscated an improvised weapon.

White denied assault causing grievous bodily harm with intent but admitted unauthorised possession of an offensive weapon in prison.

Yesterday (27 March) at Peterborough Crown Court he was found guilty of the assault charge and had his existing sentence increased.

DC Emma Purser, who investigated, said: “This was a cowardly unprovoked attack on someone who was just trying to do their job.

“The ferocity of the attack has left the victim with ongoing nerve damage and numbness. Fortunately, the other prison officers were quickly on scene and prevented him from suffering further injuries.

“Prison officers do an incredibly difficult job under what can be very challenging circumstances. They deserve to do this without being attacked.”

In 2018, White was jailed for a minimum of 16 years for murdering a homeless man in Maidstone.