Prison officer Noni Miles charged with having relationship with inmate at St Heliers

A middle-aged prison officer has allegedly been caught having an affair with an inmate at the same minimum-security prison she worked at with her husband.

A middle-aged prison officer has allegedly been caught having an affair with an inmate at the prison she worked at. Picture: Tim Hunter

A middle-aged prison officer has allegedly been caught having an affair with an inmate at the same minimum-security prison she worked at with her husband.

Noni Miles was marched out of St Heliers Correctional Centre by officers from the State Crime Command’s Robbery and Serious Crime Squad’s Corrective Services Investigation Unit in October, following reports she was having the fling.

Police will allege CCTV allegedly captured her delivering “treats” to the inmate inside the jail.

Miles was charged with unlawfully deliver or attempt to deliver anything to inmate, access/modify restricted data held in computer, and engage in relationship with inmate and cause safety risk.

She faced court for the first time three weeks ago, where she denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty. She is to face court again early next year.

The Saturday Telegraph understands Miles was married at the time of her alleged relationship with the inmate, and her husband also worked at St Heliers.

St Heliers Correctional Centre in Muswellbrook.

In a statement, Correctives Services NSW said it was aware of the allegations and the subsequent charges against Miles.

“CSNSW takes all allegations of staff misconduct extremely seriously and refers all allegations of misconduct to the Department of Communities and Justice Professional Standards and Investigation unit,” a spokesman said.

“Given this is a police matter no further information can be provided at this time.”

St Heliers Correctional Centre is a minimum-security institution for men, located on the outskirts of Muswellbrook in the Hunter Valley, 242km north of Sydney.

In 2021, another female prison guard at the same jail, and also aged in her 50s, was charged over an alleged relationship with an inmate.

She admitted to the allegations and was removed from her position at the prison.

In sensitive Correctives Services documents leaked earlier this year, it was revealed that at least 36 incidents of inappropriate relationships between staff and inmates had been referred to the Independent Commission Against Corruption since 2019.

Every allegation of this type must be reported to ICAC for investigation, before CSNSW removes the person from the workplace, and refers the claims to NSW Police which work within the Corrective Services Investigation Unit to determine whether charges will be laid.

Corrections Minister Anoulack Chanthivong told The Telegraph in July that prisons were “cracking down” on staff and inmate relationships – and the department was working to strengthen the investigations process.

“We’re cracking down on misconduct and the government expects any misconduct to be met with the full force of the law,” he said.

“This kind of misconduct is an affront to the majority of staff who do the right thing and it fails the inmates trusted to the care of our corrections system.”

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