Drug trafficker Rowan McCabe stripped of computer access in jail cell after porn found

A chartered accountant turned drug trafficker had been given a computer in his jail cell to complete a diploma in mathematics. Prison guards found it loaded with porn.

Rowan McCabe was found guilty of the prison offence misusing a computer by storing unauthorised material.

A convicted drug trafficker took prison superiors to court because they seized his personal computer after it was found loaded with illicit porn.

Former chartered accountant Rowan McCabe is serving an 11-year prison term after being found guilty of trafficking a large commercial quantity of MDMA.

McCabe was busted with more than 14,000 ecstasy tablets following a raid of a storage unit in Fitzroy in May 2017.

Locked up at medium security Loddon Prison, McCabe had been granted access to a personal computer inside his cell for the purpose of completing a Graduate Diploma in mathematics at Charles Sturt University and preparing legal appeals.

However a security audit of the computer uncovered four pornographic videos, leading to the seizure of the device and a two-week visitor suspension.

McCabe was found guilty of the prison offence misusing a computer by storing unauthorised material and fined $100.

While behind bars, he tried and failed to have his personal computer reinstated.

In a written response sent to him by Deputy Commissioner of Custodial Operations Melissa Westin, she stated the pornography offence was a level 4 breach which meant he lost all personal in-cell computer privileges for a minimum of three years.

“As advised by the General Manager, you are still able to utilise the computers in Education to continue your studies and prepare for your legal matters,” Ms Westin wrote.

“You may reapply for the reinstatement for your in-cell computer at a later date, as I am not ready to reconsider your application. I encourage you to maintain good behaviour and remain incident free during this time.”

McCabe escalated his fight for his computer to the Supreme Court of Victoria, arguing the decision to withhold it was “incompatible with his human rights”.

However Justice Claire Harris last week found the decision was lawful.

“I consider that any deprivation of the property was according to law,” Judge Harris said.

“When access to the in-cell computer was granted to Mr McCabe, it was on the basis of the conditions set out in Commissioner’s Requirement 2.1.2 and the Computer Agreement that he had signed.

“The policy to the effect that having pornographic material on a computer is prohibited and a reason for its seizure is in itself rational and entirely consistent with the statutory scheme within which the discretion to grant or remove access to an in-cell computer is to be exercised. “

McCabe must serve seven years in prison before he’s eligible for parole.