A NSW prison officer has been suspended after reportedly having an affair with an inmate.
Radio 2GB reported that Amy Connors snuck into Sione Penisini’s cell at the Mid North Coast Correctional Centre in Kempsey, and had sex with him while working the night shift.
Penisini is currently serving 36 years for murdering Senior Constable Glenn McEnallay in 2002.
Corrective Services NSW have confirmed they are investigating allegations of an “inappropriate relationship” between a prisoner and guard and that “a female officer at the Mid North Coast Correctional Centre has been suspended.”
The Daily Telegraph reports that Connors’ husband had suspected she was having an affair for months and, according to a source, he contacted prison management.
“She’s afraid to say what she thinks, we’re amazed she fell for someone like Penisini but he can be charming and had been wooing her for months, telling her she was looking amazing after losing weight,” the source said.
“She really liked him and was talking about divorcing her husband.”
Staff at the jail reportedly had the pair under surveillance for a month before they took action.
Connors is believed to have worked at the facility for 14 years according to Nine News, and was an integral member of the team.
The incident comes after another prison guard, officer Jody Marson, was sacked in 2015 for having a relationship with one punch killer Kieran Loveridge, at the same prison.
2GB reports that the issue also spreads much further afield, with officers allegedly having sex with inmates at other prisons including Long Bay, Silverwater and Lithgow.
News.com.au reports that Penisini has been removed from the Kempsey prison and relocated to Goulburn Correctional Cente, believed to be in ‘Supermax’ the high risk prison.
NSW Corrective Services minister David Elliott has issued an apology to the family of Glen McEnallay following the news of the affair and has declared new penalties to be introduced for such offences.
