EXCLUSIVE:
A married prison worker accused of having an illicit relationship with an inmate was seen buying snacks before her first court appearance.
Jessica Jade Elguindy, a mother of two whose father is a decorated correctional officer, stocked up on sweets at a western Sydney service station on Wednesday afternoon.
Elguindy was arrested at her home in Spring Farm in Sydney’s southwest last Friday and charged with entering into a relationship with an inmate causing a security risk.
The 25-year-old was also charged with accessing/modifying restricted computer data and misconduct as a public office holder.
Amber Clavell, another employee at the Geoffrey Pearce Correctional Center in Sydney’s northwest, has been charged with the same offenses as Elguindy, as well as bringing drugs into the jail.
Prison worker Jessica Elguindy, accused of having an illicit relationship with an inmate, has been seen buying snacks ahead of her first court appearance.
Elguindy’s husband, Mitch Haden, arrived at the couple’s home shortly before she left to run errands Wednesday.
When asked yesterday if he or his wife wished to comment on the charges he faced, Mr. Haden’s initial response was brief: “Fuck you.”
“No one has any comments for you, leave us alone, you all do shit anyway however you want,” he wrote in a follow-up message on Facebook.
Elguindy is an administrative assistant with Corrective Services NSW and, according to an online profile, has been employed by the department for the past six years.
His father, Walid ‘Wally’ Elguindy, has worked in the prison system for 30 years and is director general of strategic population management.
Two years ago he was awarded the Australian Correctional Medal, the highest honor awarded specifically to prison staff, in the Australia Day Honors List.
Prison employee Jessica Jade Elguindy has been charged with entering into a relationship with an inmate that creates a security risk, accessing/modifying computer data, and misconduct as a public office holder.
Elguindy’s husband, Mitch Haden, was brief when asked if he or his wife would like to comment on her circumstances. “Fuck you,” he said. The couple appears in the photo.
When contacted by WhatsNew2Day Australia on Wednesday, Elguindy said he was not in a position to comment on his daughter’s circumstances.
“I have nothing to say at this time in relation to that,” Mr Elguindy said. “It’s a difficult time and there’s nothing I can say right now.”
Detectives from the New South Wales Police Corrective Services Investigation Unit began an investigation into Jessica Elguindy in January.
Investigators had received reports of an allegedly inappropriate relationship between Elguindy and an inmate at the Geoffrey Pearce Correctional Centre.
During the course of those investigations, another prison employee, Clavell, 25, was discovered to be engaging in similar conduct at the same prison.
Jessica Elguindy’s father, Walid ‘Wally’ Elguindy, has worked in the prison system for 30 years and is general manager of strategic population management for the New South Wales Correctional Services.
Clavell was arrested at the jail on April 23 and charged with having a relationship with an inmate that created a security risk.
She is also charged with bringing a prohibited drug into prison, supplying a prohibited drug and two counts of accessing/modifying restricted computer data.
On April 24, police arrested two inmates aged 27 and 30 at the Geoffrey Pearce Correctional Center and charged them with using or possessing a mobile phone in jail.
The Australian newspaper reported that images taken with a contraband phone that are relevant to the investigation have been circulating in the prison.
The Geoffrey Pearce Correctional Center in Berkshire Park is a minimum security facility for men and part of the Francis Greenway Correctional Complex.
Investigators received reports of an allegedly inappropriate relationship between Elguindy and an inmate at the Geoffrey Pearce Correctional Center in Berkshire Park.
The complex’s other prisons are the medium-security John Morony Correctional Facility for men and the maximum-security Dillwynia Correctional Facility for women.
Under Elguindy’s bail conditions, she must not contact Clavell or approach any New South Wales prison without the approval of the director of custodial services.
Clavell must not have any contact with prosecution witnesses or alleged accomplices and faces the same restrictions on attending prisons.
A NSW Correctional Services spokesperson said the department was aware that two staff members had been charged with various offences.
“As the matter is before the courts, it would be inappropriate to comment further,” the spokesperson said.
Clavell and Elguindy are due to appear at Penrith Local Court on May 15 and May 29 respectively. The inmates will face the same court on June 5.