Police find Gary Glover after alleged prison escape

A prisoner who sparked an hours-long manhunt after allegedly escaping from jail on Friday has appeared in court and asked for a mental health assessment.

A search is underway for a man who has escaped from a Lidcombe jail. Picture: Toby Zerna

A man who allegedly escaped from custody at a Western Sydney prison has asked for a court-ordered mental health assessment.

Gary Glover, 44, allegedly escaped from Sydney’s Silverwater jail on Friday afternoon, sparking a massive hours-long manhunt.

He was found more than 30km away in Lethbridge Park and taken to Mount Druitt police station, where he was charged with escaping lawful custody.

He is yet to enter a plea to the charge.

Glover faced Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday, where he represented himself and did not apply for bail.

Instead, he asked for a court-ordered mental health assessment.

He told the court he planned to get a lawyer as soon as possible and said his “medication was not stabilised”, alleging mental health played a role in his behaviour.

Gary Glover has requested a mental health assessment after he allegedly escaped from custody.

“I’ve just been going through a lot the last few years,” he told the court.

“My dad had 11 strokes recently.”

Glover’s record – and allegations he was sexually abused while behind bars in juvenile detention as a teenager – were detailed by the ABC’s 7.30 program as part of an investigation into Reiby Youth Justice Centre last year.

The program, aired in February 2023, highlighted Glover’s “psychological scars” after ending up in youth detention 26 years ago as a passenger in a stolen car involved in a high-speed chase.

“When I get up in the morning, and I look in the mirror, I just see a broken, hurt person,” he told the ABC.

“I’m not proud of who I am and I feel ashamed of myself and dirty.”

Glover alleged that a female worker at Reiby had sex illegally with him multiple times during his detention.

“She kept on like, just grabbing me and making me perform sexual acts on her when I didn’t want to. That happened several times,” he told the ABC.

Reiby Juvenile Justice Centre. Picture: Adam Taylor

The last time someone allegedly escaped custody in NSW was in January, when an inmate was accused of fleeing a NSW Corrective Services facility attached to Broken Hill Local Court on January 14.

The man was subsequently arrested four days later at a nearby home.

Police also charged a man with escaping from Long Bay Correctional Centre in Little Bay in Sydney’s east in August 2023, after he allegedly escaped the jail and carjacked a female driver before forcing her to drive him to Sydney’s south.

Last month a woman was also charged after allegedly escaping police custody while she was under guard at Wollongong Hospital.

A senior Corrective Services NSW source told The Daily Telegraph it was “almost impossible for a genuine escape of Silverwater Correctional Centre”.

“These prisons are built so well that the only escapes you see are when inmates in minimum security are let out for work release,” he said.

“Decades ago you would have more than 100 escapes a year.

“Now we see three or four.”

It is understood Glover was taking part in work release on Friday afternoon, conducting ground maintenance just outside the Silverwater facility as part of his prison job, with a minimum security classification while he was serving a sentence for driving offences.

At 1.30pm during head checks, it is understood Corrective Services staff realised he was.

He is next expected to appear in Parramatta Local Court on November 6. He was remanded in custody.

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