Corrective Services: Claims sex scoring book still circulating through prisons despite investigation

A vile sex scoring book rating the abilities of female correctives staff couldn’t be located inside a NSW prison by an investigation team, despite several officers claiming it is still circulating.

Prison guards created a “scoring book” for female correctional officers that rated their looks and sexual prowess.

The disgusting details were revealed in many of the more than 700 allegations raised with the NSW Independent Commission Against ­Corruption by Corrective ­Services NSW (CSNSW) staff.

As The Saturday Telegraph exclusively revealed last week, many of these were accidentally leaked online.

“I was read a comment from the book about me that said male staff should ‘risk catching a case for this one’,” a female staff member at Bathurst said.

Another Bathurst woman was scored a 10 for a root but the book warned other male staff: “You’re going to need to paper bag her”.

Inside the older section of the Bathurst Correctional Centre. Picture: Jonathan Ng

A Lithgow officer said one page he had seen first-hand had described a female staff member as “good for a ride, but you wouldn’t take her home to mum”.

“There are pages about ­nursing staff, administration and female officers – no one is safe,” he said.

Another referral to the ICAC claimed: “It is alleged that the male officers target the female staff and once they ‘get with’ the female officer, they give them a score”.

“It was reported that it is well known that there are a number of officers engaging in this, laughing about it, and putting the female officers on show.”

Another allegation said the Immediate Action Team at Bathurst Correctional Centre were told male officers “would sleep with female staff at the centre and give them a score in the book”.

The report to ICAC said the book was “common knowledge and humiliating”.

However, despite the many referrals, a CSNSW investigation concluded that there was “insufficient evidence to substantiate the allegations” before the department’s Professional Standards Branch closed the file on the case.

Female officers were allegedly written about in the book.

Female staff, who say they are “disenfranchised from coming forward” following the identification of complainants in the accidentally leaked documents, told The Sunday Telegraph they were aware of the book being circulated between male officers at Bathurst and Lithgow correctional centres.

In March 2022, an independent investigation into the treatment of female staff at Bathurst Correctional Centre was announced.

Aerial view Lithgow Correctional Centre at Lithgow,

IHowever, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal the findings of the investigation were never released to the public after a directive was signed to prevent the report from going public.

It is understood CSNSW officials told former corrections minister Geoff Lee details uncovered in the findings were “legally privileged and should not be released publicly”, however, the department was compelled to hand over the findings of the investigation to the special inquiry into Wayne Astill. Astill is the Sydney prison guard jailed for 23 years after being found guilty of raping and abusing inmates.

A CSNSW spokeswoman said new evidence of misconduct would be investigated thoroughly.

“We take seriously our commitment to staff safety and our obligations under privacy legislation,” she said.

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Correctional officers are making workers compensation claims and threatening legal action – fearing for their safety at work – after being “publicly outed” in the Astill Inquiry document release.

The Saturday Telegraph exclusively revealed details of a 455-page report of untested allegations, submitted to the NSW ICAC for inquiry, which had been accidentally released publicly in what is being described as “one of the most significant breaches of sensitive information the department had ever seen”.

More than 700 untested allegations were referred in documents to the special commission of inquiry, headed by Peter McLellan, before the information was removed after Corrective Services NSW were alerted to their release.

Peter McClellan. Photo Jeremy Piper

Now, it can be revealed a flurry of officers are requesting leave and preparing legal threats against the Department of Communities and Justice over the release of untested allegations.

A senior correctional officer, identifiable in untested allegations raised by a colleague, said he was “totally unaware” of the claims against him, questioning how he could “show up to work ... with this hanging over my head”.

“I have been accused of being guilty of an allegation I didn’t commit – and then those allegations were released to my co-workers and the general public,” he said. “Inmates are making threats, my colleagues have tarnished my name.

“It is a free-for-all and the department can’t stop it.”

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It is understood the CSNSW wellbeing team were deployed just hours after the documents were discovered as an urgent reaction to the document release for “in-person support”, with officers and support staff urged to contact the employee assistance line on 1300 687 327.

Corrective Services have rolled out support to officers impacted by the document release.

Another source inside the department told the Sunday Telegraph the release of confidential details relating to the Intelligence Branch needed “full-scale investigation”.

“The department and the NSW Government need to conduct an independent inquiry into how this sensitive information (was) released to the public,” he said.

“It is one thing for the special commission to receive that information, but by releasing it on a website trawled over regularly by corrective services officers means they could have potentially placed lives at risk.”

The documents were released as part of the inquiry into Ex Prison guard Wayne Astill. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dylan Coker

Meanwhile, the department has this week received panicked inquiries from officers who were “unaware claims had been made about them” over their employment status, amid reports of threats of self harm by named employees after the documents were discovered.

It comes just weeks after The Saturday Telegraph revealed SafeWork NSW had filed charges against the NSW Government and Corrective Services NSW over an “alleged failure to comply with its health and safety duty to workers”.

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A CSNSW spokeswoman said the department “continues to prioritise the wellbeing of staff identified in the document and urges them to engage with the support services made available”.

“It is always our priority to uphold the privacy of all individuals involved in misconduct allegations, both to protect complainants and maintain the confidentiality and integrity of the misconduct process,” she said.

“The conduct alleged in the documents is completely unacceptable, and we encourage any staff member who is aware or has evidence of misconduct in the workplace to report it to Professional Standards and Investigations or NSW Police, so instances of wrongdoing can be identified and acted upon.”