19 Jul 2011

Former Rangipo Prison guard jailed

9:35 pm on 19 July 2011

A judge has called the offending of a former prison guard convicted of corruption a gross breach of trust.

Manu Jensen, who pleaded guilty in May to smuggling contraband into Rangipo Prison, was sentenced to 16 months' jail when he appeared in Rotorua District Court on Tuesday.

He supplied an inmate at the prison, near Turangi, with cannabis and eye drops for $2200 in late 2009.

Judge Phillip Cooper said Jensen's actions were a very gross breach of trust, saying the crime involved premeditation and planning and had serious consequences.

The judge said drug dependence and availability of drugs in prison led to disorder, violence and an increase in risk to the safety of staff and prisoners, and Jensen's actions undermined the excellent work of hard-working and committed colleagues.

Crown prosecutor Amanda Gordon supplied a letter to the court from the Department of Correction's chief executive outlining the harm caused by the offence.

The letter said it undermined other serving officers and had the potential to create further problems in the prison by introducing drugs.

Judge Cooper agreed with the contents of the letter, but also accepted Jensen was remorseful and the offending was out of character.

Resulted from friendship - lawyer

Defence lawyer Ian Farquhar says money was not a motivating factor in the crime, but rather Jensen had become friendly with an inmate.

He was arrested in April this year at Auckland Airport as he was about to board a plane to Australia.

It is the second time in two months a prison guard has been sentenced on charges of corruption. Johan Clarke was sentenced to two years and three months on 2 June, on six charges relating to smuggling hard drugs and fast food into Rimutaka Prison in Upper Hutt.

Corrections Department chief executive Ray Smith says many prison guards are upset that the actions of a few paint an inaccurate picture of the culture in the industry.

Mr Smith says the department employs more than 8000 staff.