Sydney prison guard Katherine Asiminaris guilty of teen sex abuse
A former prison guard has been found guilty of sexually abusing an underage inmate who she oversaw at a Sydney juvenile justice centre.
Police & Courts
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A former prison guard has been found guilty of sexually abusing an underage inmate who she oversaw at a Sydney juvenile justice centre.
Katherine Asiminaris, of Padstow, broke down in tears at Downing Centre District Court on Friday after being found guilty of multiple offences including sexual intercourse with a person under 16 and under authority during a trial.
The trial was told the 47-year-old, who has been in custody since her guilty verdict in August, was a youth worker but was performing the role of a guard when she allegedly had sex with the boy, 15, at the Reiby Youth Justice Centre in Airds when she was 23 in the late 1990s.
There was a big cell in Reiby known as “the granny flat”, which was where boys would sometimes stay just before their release or as a reward, the trial was told.
“One night, while the complainant was in the granny flat … just before he went to bed, the accused was locking him in his cell, they went into the room, into the bathroom, and they had sexual intercourse there,” crown prosecutor Lara Gallagher previously told the court.
The court heard the pair also had sex on the day of his release at her brother’s house.
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Lawyers for Asiminaris, who maintains she is innocent, said the boy was almost 16 and showed a willingness to engage with her during the incidents. It was not disputed during the trial she had a relationship with the boy after he turned 16.
Ms Gallagher accepted the boy was almost 16 but said Asiminaris’ offending involved a degree of planning, including sending him letters and providing cigarettes.
“The relationship of authority needs to be seen in its true context, the victim is actually living there and there’s a disciplinary relationship between the offender and the victim,” the prosecutor said.
Judge Sarah Huggett adjourned the case and will sentence Asiminaris later this month.
The judge warned she will have to send a message of general deterrence to prison officers who have juveniles under their custody.
Court records show Asiminaris was found guilty of two counts of having sexual intercourse with a person under 16 and under authority as well as having sexual intercourse with a person aged 14 or over and under 16.