A former female inmate says threats and the fear of retribution prevented her from reporting a senior New South Wales prison officer’s ongoing sexual abuse.
Key points:
- Wayne Astill was last year found guilty of 27 charges and jailed for 23 years
- Trudy Sheiles said she was warned about Astill’s behaviour by other inmates
- Corrective Services NSW issued an apology to inmates who were assaulted by Astill
A special commission of inquiry is examining what Corrective Services NSW (CSNSW) staff and prison officers knew about Wayne Gregory Astill’s abuse of inmates at Sydney’s Dillwynia Correctional Centre over several years.
Astill, who was chief correctional officer at the centre, was last year found guilty of 27 charges, including aggravated sexual and indecent assault, and is serving a maximum 23-year prison sentence.
On Tuesday, the inquiry heard evidence from survivors of Astill’s abuse for the first time.
Threats prevented reporting of abuse
Trudy Sheiles, who was an inmate at Dillwynia Correctional Centre between 2015 and 2018, told the inquiry she was warned by other inmates upon arrival about Astill’s behaviour.
Ms Sheiles said she would regularly be escorted by other officers to an administration block, where she was left alone with and raped by Astill.
She said it appeared that Astill was nicknamed “Teflon Sam” because he was “untouchable” and nothing would stick, and that he threatened to transfer her to Wellington Correctional Centre if she reported him.
“He said ‘you know I am high up, I’ll send you to (Wellington) and you’ll be stomped on your head’,” Ms Sheiles said.
The inquiry was previously told there was no surveillance footage of Astill’s offending, despite there being up to 175 security cameras in the prison at the time.
When asked about the lack of camera footage, Ms Sheiles said she was “mortified” there were no cameras in key parts of the prison, and that Astill was aware of this.
Ms Sheiles said Astill would escort her daughter — aged 19 at the time — during regular visits and would later make sexualised comments such as “wouldn’t it be good if I had the two of you”.
The inquiry was told that 15 female inmates arranged a meeting in November 2017 with a prison manager to discuss concerns about Astill’s inappropriate behaviour, which included touching inmates’ breasts and buttocks and making sexualised comments.
Ms Sheiles said while she told the manager about some of his inappropriate comments, she did not disclose that she had been sexually assaulted.
“I had no intention of coming forward until I’d left the prison system because I was terrified of the repercussions, and that officers would make my time harder than it already was,” she said.
“I knew he had friends and very close contacts through the whole system.”
Disclosure encouraged by ‘guardian angel’ prison officer
Ms Sheiles told the inquiry it wasn’t until the following year she disclosed the sexual assaults, after ongoing encouragement from an officer who was “subservient” to Astill.
“He was my guardian angel. He’s the only one that would have been able to get it out of me,” she said.
“The wonderful man pushed and pushed and pushed, he showed genuine concern and tried his damnest to have me confide in him and tell him what’s going on.”
Ms Sheiles said the officer then raised it with the centre’s manager of security, who immediately arranged for her to be transferred to another correctional centre.
The inquiry heard from another former inmate of Dillwynia Correctional Centre who was groomed by Astill, and avoided his attempts to kiss her while in a closed office.
The inmate, who appeared under the pseudonym “witness M”, told the inquiry Astill had threatened inmates that they could be transferred to a “much less appealing part of the jail” or to another correctional centre.
Corrections system apologises to survivors
Earlier on Tuesday, CSNSW offered a formal apology to the survivors of Astill’s abuse.
“Corrective Services deeply regrets the treatment inmates endured at a time of their life when they were vulnerable and in need of support,” barrister James Sheller SC read on behalf of CSNSW.
“Corrective Services sincerely regrets the pain and suffering that inmates experienced and acknowledges the impact it has had on personal relationships and mental health.
“There is no place in Corrective Services NSW for people like Wayne Astill or anyone who turns a blind eye to his criminal behaviour.”
Mr Sheller SC said the system had “markedly changed” and there was a range of measures to reduce the likelihood of such offences happening again.