KEY POINTS:
Four Rimutaka prison guards have been suspended following allegations a convicted rapist was allowed conjugal visits while receiving medical care at Wellington Hospital.
Corrections Minister Damien O'Connor said the claims were being investigated, and showed an "appalling dereliction of duty" if they were true, The Dominion Post said today.
"The rules are clear and we will not tolerate them not being followed," Mr O'Connor said.
National Party justice and corrections spokesman Simon Power said the latest case showed the Corrections Department was in crisis.
"Nothing that department does should surprise the public any more," he said.
"How many more reports like this will it take for the minister to realise there are serious problems with the management of prisons?"
Sources said Trevor Gene Robinson, 26, who is serving 11 years for the 1999 rape of a 16-year-old girl, was allowed inappropriate contact with his girlfriend while receiving medical care.
Robinson, of Masterton, also admitted severely beating the girl's 16-year-old male companion and three other charges, including aggravated robbery of two women in their sixties.
Wellington regional manager Dave East said Corrections was taking the allegations "extremely seriously", with four officers placed on special leave while the claims are investigated.
He said the officers were given clear instructions on Robinson's supervision while he was at hospital.
"The allegations suggest these instructions were not followed. While these allegations have yet to be proven, if they are true it would be completely unacceptable and serious disciplinary action is likely," Mr East said.
No further comment would be made while the investigation was under way.
Scrutiny
It is the second similar case under scrutiny this month after revelations that convicted pack rapist Peter McNamara fathered a child while in Rimutaka Prison.
He made arrangements with a prison doctor to provide a semen sample for his partner. McNamara's partner, Joanne Percy, gave birth to a boy in Tauranga Hospital in January and McNamara was granted permission to attend the birth.
In a separate investigation into allegations of corruption, it was announced on Tuesday that two Rimutaka Prison guards have been suspended and two others face suspension. The four guards face disciplinary action.
A team of former detectives has been investigating allegations of corruption by Correction Department prison staff following claims that prison officers received cash for smuggling contraband to inmates at two prisons.
Corrections chief executive Barry Matthews has said the investigation would look for collusion between inmates and guards, and allegations of criminal activities by staff.
Two Christchurch Men's Prison guards were recently suspended while Corrections investigated claims they smuggled tobacco, phone cards and cellphones into the jail.
- NZPA
