A probation officer in Auckland is being investigated over a recording of a conversation about supplying a prostitute to a sex offender.
A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections says it has suspended the officer while it looks into whether the voice on the recording is his.
She says it is yet to be established whether the officer was managing sex offenders as part of his caseload.
The spokesperson says the recording, which was later handed to a journalitst, was made by another offender.
The department's acting regional manager, Alastair Riach, says it does not provide or pay for prostitutes for any offenders.
The allegations are very serious and will be fully investigated, he says.
