Sandra Christine Maybery allegedly jumped the closed South Australia-Victorian border to visit partner

A Victorian government worker put the community at risk — just days after the state locked down — when she illegally entered SA to visit her boyfriend, police allege.

A Horsham woman visiting her Bordertown partner has spent the weekend in custody after allegedly illegally entering the state.

Sandra Christine Maybery, 59, appeared at the Mount Gambier Magistrate Court via video link from the police cells on Monday.

A tip-off led to the mother’s arrest at a Bordertown home on Friday with the police prosecutor alleging she had breached the Emergency Management Act by crossing into South Australia.

She said the woman had been granted a cross-border permit that expired on August 22 after regional Victoria locked down the previous day.

Sandra Christine Maybery, 59, appeared at the Mount Gambier Magistrate Court charged with illegally entering South Australia from Horsham in Victoria. Picture: Facebook

The police prosecutor was “strongly opposed to bail” for the “serious” offending despite Ms Maybery’s lack of criminal history.

“She entered South Australia, knowing that the entire state of Victoria, at that time, was in lockdown,” she said.

“We are seeing high levels of Covid-related cases, it is a danger to the community and the financial means of the state if there was an outbreak that occurs in South Australia.”

Making her bid for bail, defence lawyer Jarrad Sim said Ms Mayberry had a defence to the charges, having entered SA on August 20, prior to the regional Victorian lockdown and permit expiration.

“She had a perfectly legal path to do so,” Mr Sim said. “She travelled from Horsham to see her disabled son who lives in a border community on the Victorian side of the border and then travelled into Bordertown.

“She entered through Francis, there was no checkpoints, there was no sneaking in.”

Mr Sim said he had not seen the interview where Ms Maybery allegedly admitted to entering the state on August 27 but said she wanted to return to Horsham to her full-time job with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.

“She accepts and acknowledges it is likely to be many months before she’s able to see that partner again,” he said.

Magistrate Maria Panagiotidis granted bail with a $1000 cash surety and Ms Maybery who had returned a negative Covid-19 result, will reappear via phone in September.