A Special Commission of Inquiry has found that a prison officer convicted of raping inmates at a north-western Sydney prison should never have been employed by Corrective Services NSW (CSNSW), but got the job as the result of either “corruption or incompetence”.
The final report of 2023 Special Commission of Inquiry released today examined what Corrective Services staff and prison officers knew about the abuse.
In 2022 Wayne Gregory Astill was found guilty of 27 charges, including aggravated sexual and indecent assault, for abusing at least 14 inmates at the Dillwynia Correctional Centre, near Windsor.
He was sentenced to a maximum of 23 years in prison.
Astill started as a correctional officer CSNSW in October 1999 and after serving as a police officer and detective.
He began working at Dillwynia Correctional Centre in 2009 before being promoted to chief in 2016.
Commissioner the Honourable Peter McClellan, KC said that before being hired by Corrective Services Astill was the subject of a number of complaints “of serious criminal and other misconduct” while he was working as a NSW Police officer.
“As his police personnel file reveals, he should never have been employed by CSNSW,” Mr McClellan stated.
Mr McClellan said the file raised questions as to why Astill hadn’t been prosecuted, but also “cast doubt on the integrity of CSNSW’s employment process”.
“Whether corruption or incompetence (it must have been one or the other) was responsible for his acceptance by CSNSW, I cannot say,” Mr McClellan wrote.
“It has led to tragic consequences for both prisoners and prison officers.”
‘Hopeless’ prison culture called into question
The report paints a bleak picture of Dillwynia prison, saying “it failed the inmates’ need for a stable, secure, and safe environment.
“It describes a culture of disrespect and foul language from staff to prisoners and notes “the lack of respect came from the top and permeated through middle management to the lower levels of management”.
Mr McClellan said there was a “fear of retribution” which meant inmates and prison officers were reluctant to report misconduct.
“The gaol was described by one senior officer as a ‘viper pit’ or a ‘very toxic environment’,” he wrote.
He found that Astill had a clear reputation at the prison, including inmates composing a song about him having sex with prisoners.
“Instead of investigating the rumours, the management of the gaol sought to suppress them at multiple levels,” Mr McClellan wrote.
A small number of prison officers attempted to have management address the problem, without success, he said.
Mr McClellan said some reports did find their way to Corrective Services investigation branch (IB), but “only one word is appropriate for the situation in IB — hopeless.”
Six reports were made about Astill to the investigation branch with no effect.
Minister for Corrections Anoulack Chanthivong described Astill’s offending as “evil, manipulative, deplorable and unforgivable”.
“He victimised and abused inmates entrusted to his care, his actions and the failures of Corrective Services to prevent them have not met the expectations of the [NSW] government, the community, or the vast majority of our Corrective Services staff,” Mr Chanthivong said.
Dillwynia management put under the microscope
The report also made damning findings about the conduct of management at the prison, saying Shari Martin, the Governor at the time, was “not capable of successfully managing the gaol”.
It was also scathing of the now Commissioner of Corrective Services Kevin Corcoran, who was asked by the department secretary to go on indefinite leave just days after giving evidence to the Inquiry.
Mr McClellan found Mr Corcoran had appointed Ms Martin despite concerns about her behaviour as a manager at a previous prison.
He said Mr Corcoran had “accepted she was not up to the job” but did not take any responsibility for managing her.
Mr McClellan said it was difficult to understand why “he had little idea about his power to remedy the situation.”
“Mr Corcoran failed to satisfactorily discharge his function as a senior executive in making the original decision and failing to be aware of the capacity he had to deal with a Governor who was not performing satisfactorily,” Mr McClellan wrote.
Mr Chanthivong said Mr Corcoran remains on leave and that the the Secretary of the Department of Communities and Justice is taking advice on the matter.
Mr McClellan did not determine whether disciplinary action should be taken against any Corrective Services employees or make any referrals to the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
President of the Public Service Association of NSW Nicole Jess said the majority of prison officers worked with the “upmost of integrity”.
“Prison officers that work within NSW, 99.9 per cent of them are going to work on a daily basis to protect our state and our communities,” she said.
“This inquiry was based on someone who had no integrity, no morals, and it was absolutely disgusting what he did.”
‘Wrong to assume that there are not problems elsewhere’
He said he was concerned the problems at Dillwynia may run deeper than the inquiry was able to expose.
“I am also concerned that given the culture inside Dillwynia, the friendships and determination not to ‘dob’ mates, together with the desire to avoid criticism, I may not always have been told the truth,” he said.
He said that change was required not only at Dillwynia but across the entire Corrective Services organisation.
“It would be wrong to assume that there are not problems elsewhere,” he wrote.
In total Mr McClellan made a total of 31 recommendations about changes needed around Corrective Services hiring procedures, reporting requirements and complaints handling systems.
Mr Chanthivong said “immediate steps” had been taken to improve inmate safety, including additional CCTV cameras, compulsory sexual harassment awareness training, and body-worn cameras on uniformed staff at Dillwynia.
As recommended by Mr McClellan, the minister said a task force will also be set up to “fix a broken culture and failed procedures”.
“These changes will take time, but are critical to restoring trust and confidence in the corrections system,” Mr Chanthivong said.
He acknowledged the “bravery of victims who came forward” off the back of the report’s release.
“They have suffered at the hands of Mr Astill and in a system that ignored them for too long.”