Probe into prison guard rapist Wayne Astill upgraded to Special Commission of Inquiry
The inquiry into prison guard rapist Wayne Astill has been upgraded to a Special Commission of Inquiry in a bid to bolster the powers of the investigation into him and the wider NSW Corrective Services.
NSW
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The inquiry into prison guard rapist Wayne Astill has been upgraded to a Special Commission of Inquiry in a bid to bolster the powers of the investigation into him and the wider NSW Corrective Services.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal a request by the head of the inquiry Hon Peter McClellan AM KC has led to a change to give the inquiry the highest powers of investigation available in NSW, and sits one step below a Royal Commission.
Astill was found guilty of more than 30 offences against multiple inmates and was sentenced to a minimum 15 years and four months jail earlier this year, before the state government announced the inquiry in July.
A spokesman for Minister for Corrections, Anoulack Chanthivong, said the terms of reference and required report date of December 15, 2023, would not be changing despite the upgrade to Mr McLennan’s powers.
At the time of announcing the inquiry Minister Chanthivong said the deeper investigation into Astill was a necessary step in “paying tribute to the bravery of Mr Astill’s victims in coming forward”.
“Mr McClellan is the right person to lead this inquiry and I’m confident he has the powers he needs,” he said.
“We can’t afford to let anything risk other ongoing investigations, so we’ve been careful in designing the scope and format of this inquiry.
“We owe it to the overwhelming majority of Corrective Services officers doing the right thing to ask ourselves the hard questions, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
The terms of reference of the Special Commission of Inquiry will include “knowledge or suspicion” of Astill and his offending by colleagues, the “adequacy” of the supervision and oversight he was under at Dillwynia Correctional Centre and whether further investigations into him, his colleagues or Corrective Services NSW are required.
Special Commission of Inquiry powers have previously been used to investigate issues including LGBTIQ hate crimes and iCare.
Sources said that up until the announcement of the inquiry in July, further NSW Police investigations into Astill had been ongoing – including the formation of a Strike Force – which had identified in excess of 50 possible additional victims.
Those who worked with him and had knowledge of his crimes, but did nothing, have also been identified.
Officials launched a bid earlier this month calling for information from the public as it examines whether any other employee of Corrective Services NSW had knowledge or suspicion of Astill’s offending and what steps they took.
It was revealed earlier this year that there was such fear by NSW Corrective Services for the safety of their former colleague, that the acting governor of Long Bay jail gave authority for Astill to be handed the “CP” classification while behind bars.
Under that classification he is able to remain anonymous while behind bars.
Astill will first be eligible for parole in December 2037.
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