A former Corrections Department official who worked at Rimutaka Prison has been charged with corruption.
It is the first time the charge has been laid against a prison officer. Laying the charge required the consent of the Solicitor-General.
The man, 41, whose name is suppressed, already faces drugs charges. He resigned after being charged with supplying cannabis in October last year.
The man will next appear in the Upper Hutt District Court on 5 May.
Corrections Department chief executive Barry Matthews says the new charge came after a long-running investigation with police.
Despite the corruption charge, Mr Matthews says most staff do their jobs with honesty and integrity.
Another former prison officer is still before the courts on drugs charges.
A former unit manager, Jeffrey Reid, was committed to trial after pleading not guilty to charges of supplying cannabis, cultivating the drug and conspiring to sell it.
