Inside the ‘illicit bond’ between the prison boss’s daughter and a jailbird – as she and her pal face a string of charges over ‘illegal relationships’

EXCLUSIVE

One of two young female prison employees accused of having illegal relationships with inmates is the daughter of a decorated senior corrections officer.

Jessica Jade Elguindy was arrested at her Spring Farm home in Sydney’s south-west last Friday and taken to nearby Narellan police station.

The 25-year-old was charged with engaging in a relationship with a prisoner creating a security risk, accessing/altering restricted computer data and misconduct as a holder of a public office.

Elguindy is an administrative assistant at Corrective Services NSW and has been employed by the department for the past six years, according to an online profile.

Her father Walid ‘Wally’ Elguindy worked in the prison system for thirty years and is general director of strategic population management.

Two years ago he was awarded the Australian Corrections Medal, the highest award given specifically to prison staff on the Australia Day Honors List.

“Mr. Elguindy’s work is critical to the good order of the state’s prison network,” said a background note provided to media at the time.

When contacted by Daily Mail Australia, Mr Elguindy said he was not in a position to comment on his daughter’s circumstances.

“I have nothing to say about that at this time,” Mr. Elguindy said. “It’s a difficult time and I can’t say anything about it at the moment.”

Detectives from the Corrective Services Investigation Unit within the NSW Police Force began an investigation into Jessica Elguindy in January.

Investigators had received reports of an allegedly inappropriate relationship between Elguindy and a male inmate at the Geoffrey Pearce Correctional Center in Sydney’s northwest.

During the course of that investigation, another prison employee, 25-year-old Amber Clavell, is alleged to have been involved in similar behavior at the same prison.

Clavell was arrested in prison on April 23, taken to Penrith police station and released on bail after facing five criminal charges.

She is charged with having a relationship with a prisoner posing a security risk, introducing a prohibited drug into a prison, supplying a prohibited drug and two counts of accessing/altering restricted computer data.

The following day, police arrested two inmates aged 27 and 30 at the Geoffrey Pearce Correctional Center and charged both with using/possession of a mobile phone in prison.

The Australian newspaper has reported that images taken with a smuggled phone are circulating in the prison and are relevant to the investigation.

The Geoffrey Pearce Correctional Center in Berkshire Park is a minimum security facility for men and is part of the Francis Greenway Correctional Complex.

The other prisons in the complex are the medium-security John Morony Correctional Center for men and the maximum-security Dillwynia Correctional Center for women.

Last month, Kevin Corcoran was fired as Corrective Services Commissioner following an investigation into an officer who had been raping inmates in Dillwynia for five years.

Wayne Astill was arrested in 2019 for the sexual assault of 14 female inmates and was ultimately jailed for up to 23 years.

Mr Corcoran was found not to have properly discharged his responsibilities after approving the appointment of Dillwynia’s governor despite his concerns about its management.

Under Elguindy’s bail conditions, she is not allowed to communicate with Clavell or approach the NSW prison without permission from the director of prison services.

Clavell is not allowed to have any contact with prosecution witnesses or alleged co-offenders and faces the same restrictions when it comes to prison visits.

A spokesperson for Corrective Services NSW said the department was aware of two staff members who had been charged with various offences.

“As the matter is before the courts, it would be inappropriate to comment further,” the spokesperson said.

Notes provided when Mr Elguindy was awarded the Australian Corrections Medal commended the officer for his work as strategic population management boss.

“Mr Elguindy leads a team of five who actively manage the flow and placement of cohorts of prisoners into prison beds within the NSW prison center network, appropriate to their security risk, classification and gender,” the notes said.

“The CSNSW Executive Committee relies heavily on Mr. Elguindy to provide critical information to ensure that the vital needs of the prison system are met, that staff and inmates are always safe and that operational requirements are always met.

“He remains calm and methodical in confrontational situations, while also considering the welfare of the inmates in his care and balancing the ever-evolving needs of CSNSW.”

Clavell and Elguindy will appear in Penrith District Court on May 15 and 29 respectively. The prisoners will appear before the same court on June 5.