A woman allegedly bribed a prison guard to take illicit items into Rimutaka Prison by having sex with him.
Jacinta Cherry, a 37-year-old bar manager from Wainuiomata, is one of six people – three former Corrections staff, one current employee, an inmate and a member of the public – charged as part of Operation Portia, a long-running police investigation into suspected staff corruption at the Upper Hutt jail.
Cherry failed to show up for her scheduled appearance in Hutt Valley District Court on Tuesday morning, and Judge Tim Black issued a warrant for her arrest.
The Porirua man who allegedly twice accepted sex from her as a bribe to smuggle contraband behind the wire was earlier granted interim name suppression and remanded on bail to reappear in court on January 9.
An inmate, who also can’t be named for legal reasons but is listed as living at Paremoremo Prison, is accused of being a party to Cherry’s crimes.
Three other men – two 37-year-olds and a 40-year-old – charged as part of the police investigation were allegedly bribed with money, ranging from $65 to $1300, to take contraband into the prison, court documents show.
They all have name suppression and are scheduled to reappear in court next year.
Stuff previously reported Operation Portia was launched in June 2020 after an inmate at Rimutaka Prison arranged the trafficking of drugs into New Zealand from behind bars using smuggled cell phones.
The offending, identified as part of a separate police investigation, Operation Dory, was thought to have been enabled by corrupt guards.
Rimutaka Prison has been at the centre of a long-running police investigation into staff corruption.
Detectives involved in Operation Portia, which was led by the police’s National Organised Crime Group, spoke to almost 200 people, including Corrections staff, prisoners and other witnesses, the police statement said.
“Our investigation involved tactics like the interrogation of phones, bank data and viewing hours of CCTV,” the statement said.
“This has been an incredibly dynamic investigation with lots of moving parts.”
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In addition to the corruption and bribery offences, Operation Portia detectives identified alleged crimes involving assault and one case of using a document.
As a result, five people were charged, police said. One of those prosecutions was ongoing, they said.
“Police have also been able to provide information to Corrections that has supported the prison to strengthen its management of some systems and processes.”
Stuff previously reported that information gathered by police that related to non-criminal workplace conduct was passed to Corrections in November 2021, and led to an internal inquiry into the actions of 10 Rimutaka Prison staff.
In May of the following year, the department announced nine staff members had been suspended for alleged misconduct, and another had resigned.
The allegations under review included introducing contraband (including food and cellphones), workplace bullying, failure to follow procedures critical to the safety and security of the prison, failure to maintain professional boundaries and inappropriately accessing prisoner information, chief custodial officer Neil Beales said. None of the allegations are of a sexual nature.
Stuff understands several of the suspended staff were later allowed to return to work.
JUAN ZARAMA PERINI/The Post
Corrections chief custodial officer Neil Beales.
On Tuesday, Corrections national commissioner Leigh Marsh said the department “will not tolerate illegal behaviour in our prisons”.
“We expect a high standard of conduct from all employees. The nature of our work means we must act beyond reproach at all times.”
Marsh said inmates often went to “extreme lengths” to continue offending while behind bars.
About 37% of the prison population was affiliated with a gang – a known risk factor for antisocial and criminal behaviour – and “gangs are becoming increasingly sophisticated in the way they operate”. “This presents significant challenges for frontline staff.”
Significant emphasis was placed on conduct and integrity throughout the department’s recruitment and selection processes, and “we have a number of measures to ensure that integrity is well-established in our workplace culture”, Marsh said.
Work was ongoing at Rimutaka Prison to “strengthen our culture, ensure professional standards of behaviour are consistently followed and maintained, improve our practice, and strengthen our overall management of people in prison”. “This work commenced under the previous Prison Director and the current Prison Director is committed to continuing this.”
On Tuesday, Corrections Association president Floyd Du Plessis said the corruption and bribery charges came as no surprise.
“Staff for a number of years have been raising concerns about wrongdoing at that site. The vast majority have been asking for something to be done.”
Du Plessis said he was frustrated at the length of time it had taken for charges to be laid.
“[Operation Portia] has left a dark cloud over staff. [Charges] should have happened a lot sooner … to allow staff to repair the damage and move forward positively.”
Historically, there had been a “systemic failure” to act on wrongdoing at Rimutaka Prison, but that had changed in recent years, he said.
“Corruption is something we’re always very concerned about, so having a better focus … on highlighting incidents or complaints … needs to be heightened in terms of importance.”
Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell acknowledged the police and Corrections staff who had worked hard on a “complicated and intensive investigation”.
“As Kiwis, we pride ourselves as being one of the least corrupt countries in the world. When evidence of corruption does emerge, it is important that the full force of the law is brought to bear, which is what has happened in this case,” Mitchell said.
“I do want to acknowledge our Corrections Officers across the country, most of whom work hard in a challenging profession and are our unseen heroes, helping to keep kiwis safe every day. This would be very disappointing for them and I don’t want the alleged actions of a few to distract from the hard work, professionalism, and dedication our Corrections officers display every day.”
The corruption probe isn’t the only matter to cast a shadow over Rimutaka Prison in recent times.
In February last year, inmate Damon Exley escaped disguised as a prison guard, then abducted and raped a woman while on the run.
The incident – the worst Beales had experienced in his 32-year career – exposed systemic failings at the jail.
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