Louise Bud: Mid-North Coast corrections officer convicted after smuggling illegal items for inmate

A woman with a clean criminal record and a long history of employment for Corrective Services NSW has been convicted for stashing items in a bin for the collection of a jail inmate.

A 51-year-old woman is set to lose her NSW Corrective Services job after she was found guilty of stashing contraband in a bin knowing it would be collected by a jail inmate.

Mid-North Coast Correctional Facility officer Louise Margaret Bud was stood down on full pay last year after she was charged by police for unlawfully secreting 30 grams of tobacco and two mobile phone charges into the centre last year.

The items, which Bud placed inside a bin in the car park of the facility, were meant for the collection of an inmate, but instead, they were seized by two NSW Corrective services employees who located them after reviewing CCTV footage which showed her stashing them inside.

Louise Margaret Bud outside Port Macquarie Local Court. Picture: Dan Mills

Bud pleaded not guilty to a charge of unlawfully secrete thing for an inmate to receive, which proceeded to a hearing in March and June this year. The matter was finalised on Monday in Port Macquarie Local Court.

Both items are illegal inside NSW jails and the maximum penalty for the charge is two years jail.

The court heard on Monday that Bud’s defence that she didn’t know what was inside a coffee cup she collected while picking up rubbish off the ground before placing it in a bin, could not be believed.

Her actions were not accidental – but premeditated, according to Magistrate Georgina Darcy.

“The coffee cup itself is in pristine condition, unused,” Magistrate Georgina Darcy said.

She said it did not resemble a cup which had been “out in the elements.”

Ms Darcy said that Bud’s actions in picking up rubbish near her car was “suspicious” and a ”disguise” to mask the fact she had placed an unused, clean cup containing the contraband, in the bin.

The Mid North Coast Correctional Centre near Kempsey. Picture: Nathan Edwards

“She picked up random items of rubbish in the parking area to disguise that she had put contraband in the plastic bag,” Ms Darcy said.

“She left it in there with the intention that an inmate would find it.

“I have no idea why she would do that.”

The court had earlier heard evidence by a NSW Correctives employee Lee Chaffey, who was the custody manager involved in investigating Bud’s activities which he said were captured on CCTV.

He told the court that he saw Ms Bud leave at the end of her shift on Sunday July 12 where she placed a bag in a bin.

He said it was common for the bins to be collected and emptied by inmates daily, but this can be delayed by a day or two if inmates do not get outside.

When he noticed that the items were placed in the bin, he and another officer, Michael McDonald, conducted a search and located the concealed items at the top of the bin. The search was recorded on video, and played to the court.

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The court heard that when Bud was confronted by officers about it, she accepted that the bag located was the bag she put in the bin, but did not know that the coffee cup contained the tobacco pouch and charger.

Ms Darcy said that she was convinced that the prosecution had proven beyond reasonable doubt that Ms Bud was responsible for stowing the items, knowing that the bin would be collected, emptied and sorted by jail inmates.

“I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the bag the accused was seen carrying on CCTV footage and putting in the bin was the same bag located by Mr Chaffey,” she said.

Ms Darcy told the 51-year-old that the offence was aggravated because “you were in a position of trust.”

Bud’s lawyer, Douglas Hannaway, said she would now lose her job as a result of the conviction. Ms Darcy took that into consideration when considering Bud’s sentence.

Bud was placed on an 18-month Community Corrections Order where she was to remain on good behaviour throughout.

Outside the court, Bud was overheard telling her supporters that she intended to appeal the decision.

A Corrective Services NSW spokeswoman said the department was “in the process of reviewing the officer’s future employment.”

“The officer will remain suspended until the final decision is made,” she said.