The name of the corrupt guard who took bribes to smuggle tobacco was withheld for security reasons

He later helped smuggle contraband, including tobacco, into the prison.

Judge Harrop said: “A public official who corruptly accepts a bribe and obtains personal benefit and then acts on it is clearly guilty of a very serious offence.”

“This crime risks undermining the criminal system… It also undermines New Zealand’s reputation as a place generally free of public corruption.”

She said it had been five years since the man committed the crime and he had since turned his life around. He currently works as an alcohol and drug counselor and is heavily involved in the community.

Judge Harrop said the man was considered “very unlikely” to reoffend and his offending was out of character. He only had one criminal record, dating back to 2006, for fighting in public.

It adopted a starting point for a sentence of two years and eight months, then allowed a 25 per cent reduction for the man’s guilty plea and a further 15 per cent reduction for his remorse, rehabilitation and good work in the community.

This reduced the sentence to 19 months in prison, which Judge Harrop later commuted to eight months house arrest and a $4220 fine.

It also granted permanent anonymity, which the Crown opposed.

While the court was hearing arguments about the reasons for the suppression order, Judge Harrop suppressed these arguments beyond stating that the order was made under a section of the Code of Criminal Procedure 2011 which allows for the name to be suppressed if publishing a person’s name would endanger their safety. any person.

reporter He opposed the order, arguing that it was important for the public to be informed about the reasons why a person’s name should be withheld.

But Judge Harrop said he did not believe there was a “strong public interest” in making these details public.

“I was sure that publishing could endanger the defendant,” he said. “I do not think any details beyond this should be published and I am making my decision accordingly.”

The man is one of a handful of people charged following a police investigation into corruption at Rimutaka Prison.

Following accusations against six people Three-year police investigation into corruption at Rimutaka PrisonIt was called Operation Portia. Police interviewed more than 200 people as part of the investigation.

Another Department of Corrections officer was accused of accepting five bribes, one of which was as little as $150, to bring contraband into the prison.

Some of the alleged crimes are thought to have occurred during the first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.

Another guard Neil Falelima Potter was sentenced in the Hutt Valley District Court in August. He pleaded guilty to three charges of corruption against a bailiff.

Potter accepted $3,700 to bring tobacco and food to the prison. He was sentenced to nine months house arrest.

Meanwhile in 2022 A former guard was convicted for unknowingly bringing marijuana into the prison while trying to smuggle food for an inmate’s birthday.

Okotai Ruaporo had brought a bag containing sweet and sour pork, grated cheese, and six bottles of tomato sauce; It was given to him by his family after the prisoner befriended him.

When he went through the x-ray machine while entering the prison, food and marijuana were found inside.

Ruaporo received a suspended sentence for the crime.

Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter covering crime, justice and news in the capital. He joined the Herald in 2016 and worked as a journalist for 10 years.