Disgraced footy WAG Arabella Del Busso has revealed she was threatened with a knife by another female inmate, is regularly robbed by prisoners and endured multiple invasive strip searches by prison guards.
In an anguished handwritten letter from her prison cell in Sydney’s northwest, the former reality TV show star describes her humiliating life behind bars, describing how she has to shower, change clothes and go to the toilet in the in the presence of other female prisoners.
In the letter, obtained by Daily Mail Australia, the 34-year-old says he was threatened by a fellow inmate, saying: ‘I was… threatened with a razor.’ [sic]. That’s a reference to a “shiv,” prison slang for a prison-made knife or blade made of metal or plastic.
The former participant in a reality TV program at the SAS also describes the strip quests she undergoes every week as ‘traumatising’.
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 receives 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 knife.
“The strip searches have not only been traumatizing, but have also left me feeling violated by having to remove my clothing in front of two officers,” Del Busso wrote.
‘One is in front of you and one behind you, you then have to lift your bra and show your breasts.
“Then take off your underwear down to your knees or completely, bend over, spread your buttocks and lift one foot at a time.”
Del Busso’s jail records could be revealed after she failed to get released from jail on community order.
Instead, she will 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 about being pregnant to her ex-boyfriend, rugby league star Josh Reynolds.
She is currently incarcerated at the 531-inmate Dillwynia Correctional Center in Berkshire Park.
She had spent three and a half weeks in the tough women’s prison, the Silverwater Womens Correctional Centre, where she said she had a ‘very familiar role’ as a sweeper.
But her comfortable life in that prison ended with her transfer to Dillwynia – where she now feels “uncomfortable” performing private acts in the presence of other inmates.
“In such a confined space, I felt uncomfortable not only because I had to shower, use the toilet and undress and dress in front of them,” she wrote.
Del Busso, now 34, says other female inmates regularly steal food from her, using violence as a threat. As a result, she has lost weight behind bars and is locked up for 17 hours a night.
The ex-footy WAG also described the humiliation of having to share a cell with another female inmate in whose company she has to undress, shower and use the toilet.
Del Busso told a friend and a forensic psychologist that “inmates would steal her food” and that she is regularly “cited for buying up (and) if she doesn’t comply, she has been threatened with violence.”
She said that since she was locked up eight weeks ago, she has endured the humiliating reality of sharing a small cell with other female criminals.
‘It makes me feel unsafe, because the status is highly valued and the prisoners know or discover who I am.’
In a sworn statement to her lawyer, Del Busso said: “I try to get through every day and keep my head down, but every day feels so long and difficult.
‘I deliberately did not include anything in my letter, because I knew that prison staff would read the contents of my letter.
“And I didn’t want them to know about these things for fear it would jeopardize my safety in prison.”
One of the visiting rooms at Dillwynia prison, where Del Busso is now serving a five-month prison sentence for ‘brazen’ theft
Del Busso was jailed on February 13 for stealing $52,350 from Rheumotology Specialist Care.
Between 2019 and 2020, she worked as a receptionist at practices in Kogarah, in Sydney’s south, and Randwick, in the city’s east.
Judge John Pickering described the thefts as ‘brazen’ and a magistrate described her methods of carrying out the dishonest acts as ‘elaborate’.
When she is released from prison in July, Del Busso plans to “continue my boxing career where people will forgive, be inspired and look up to myself.”
“Being in custody opened my eyes and taught me gratitude, realigned my values and made me realize that not only did my actions impact me, but also those around me.
“I have not only let myself down, but also my loved ones, friends and fans.”