A corrections officer stands accused of sexually assaulting a female inmate at a regional NSW prison months after a major inquiry into another guard's abuse delivered scathing findings.
The 36-year-old man was charged with three counts of aggravated sexual assault and one count of engaging in a relationship with an inmate, causing a safety risk, police said on Friday.
He was arrested on Thursday morning by detectives from NSW Police's Corrective Services Investigation Unit, which set up a strike force to investigate claims a 28-year-old inmate had been sexually assaulted.
The assaults allegedly happened at a correctional centre at Wellington in the state's central west between June 18 and July 30, though police did not receive a report until the start of August.
The man was taken to Wellington Police Station where he was charged and refused bail to appear at Dubbo Local Court on Friday.
The charges follow a government-ordered inquiry into the circumstances surrounding a series of rapes and indecent assaults committed by another corrections officer, Wayne Astill.
The ex-prison guard was sentenced in March 2023 to a maximum of 23 years' jail for crimes against nine women while working as an officer at the Dillwynia Correctional Centre in Sydney's west.
The subsequent independent inquiry highlighted multiple failures within the prisons system, including missed red flags that should have stopped Astill ever being employed as a corrections officer, in findings handed down in March.
Corrections Minister Anoulack Chanthivong has previously said a task force would be established to rectify issues relating to prison safety canvassed during the inquiry.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
