Disgraced footballer WAG Arabella Del Busso has revealed that she was threatened with a knife by another prisoner, is regularly robbed by inmates and has endured multiple invasive strip searches by prison guards.
In a distressed handwritten letter from her cell in Sydney’s northwest, the former reality TV star details her humiliating life behind bars, describing how she has to shower, change and go to the toilet in front of other prisoners.
In the letter, obtained by WhatsNew2Day Australia, the 34-year-old recounts being threatened by a fellow prisoner, saying: “I was threatened with being stabbed with a whip.” [sic]. This is a reference to a ‘shiv’, prison slang for a knife or metal or plastic blade made in prison.
The former SAS reality show contestant also describes the strip searches she undergoes weekly as “traumatizing”.
Arabella Del Busso says she has found multiple strip searches in prison humiliating and has written a graphic description of what she has to endure every time she has a contact visit.
The 34-year-old convicted thief spent three weeks in Silverwater women’s prison (above) before being transferred to Dillwynia, where she was threatened with a prison-made knife.
“The strip searches… have not only been traumatizing but have made me feel violated by having to take off my clothes in front of two officers,” Del Busso wrote.
‘One stands in front of you and another stands behind you, then you must lift your bra and show your breasts.
“Next, pull your underwear down to your knees or take them off completely, bend over, spread your buttocks, and lift one foot at a time.”
Del Busso’s prison records may be revealed after he failed in his bid to be released from prison on a community order.
Instead, she is forced to spend another three months behind bars for stealing $52,000 from her employer while working as a receptionist.
Del Busso became a notorious figure after it was revealed she lied to her ex-boyfriend, rugby league star Josh Reynolds, saying she was pregnant.
She is currently locked up at the 531-inmate Dillwynia Correctional Center in Berkshire Park.
She had spent three and a half weeks in the harsh women’s prison, Silverwater Women’s Correctional Centre, where, she said, she had a “very trusted role” as a street sweeper.
But her comfortable life in that prison ended with her transfer to Dillwynia, where she now feels “uncomfortable” performing private acts in front of other inmates.
“In such a small space, it not only made me feel uncomfortable having to shower, use the bathroom, and undress and dress in front of them,” she wrote.
Del Busso, now 34, said other prisoners regularly steal food from her using violence as a threat and, as a result, she has lost weight behind bars and is locked up for 17 hours a night.
The former WAG footballer also described the humiliation of having to share a cell with another inmate in whose company she has to undress, shower and go to the bathroom.
Del Busso told a friend and a forensic psychologist that “inmates stole her food” and that they regularly “stop her for shopping (and) if she doesn’t comply, they threaten her with violence.”
She said that since she was locked up eight weeks ago she has endured the degrading reality of sharing a small cell with other female offenders.
“It has made me feel insecure, since being a high-profile status, inmates know or find out who I am.”
In a sworn statement to his attorney, Del Busso said: “I try to get through each day and keep my head down, but each day feels very long and difficult.”
‘I deliberately didn’t include things in my letter because I knew that prison staff would read the contents of my letter.
“And I didn’t want them to know these things for fear that they would compromise my safety in prison.”
One of the visitor areas of Dillwynia Prison, where Del Busso is serving a five-month sentence for “brazen” robbery
Del Busso was jailed on February 13 for stealing $52,350 from Rheumatology Specialist Care.
She worked as a receptionist at her internships in Kogarah, in Sydney’s south, and Randwick, in the city’s east, between 2019 and 2020.
Judge John Pickering called the thefts “brazen” and one magistrate described their methods of carrying out dishonest acts as “elaborate”.
When he is released from prison in July, Del Busso plans to “continue my career in boxing where people will forgive me, inspire me and admire me.”
‘Being in custody opened my eyes and taught me gratitude, realigned my values ​​and made me realize that not only did my actions affect myself, but also the loved ones around me.
“Not only have I let myself down, but I have also let down my loved ones, friends and fans.”