http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9125129%255E421,00.html

By Paula Doneman
March 30, 2004

A PRISON counsellor set up teenage girls and inmates as penpals, leading to a convicted child rapist running off with a 14-year-old girl.

Rapist Stuart Williams, 22, was supplied a photograph of the teenager and an address to write to her while an inmate at the Maryborough Correctional Centre.

Prison cultural liaison officer Joyce Bonner allegedly smuggled in photos of the girl and two other teenagers to Williams and two other inmates in October last year to set them up as penpals.

Williams was serving eight months of a three-year sentence for the rape and assault of a 15-year-old girl when Bonner allegedly supplied the information.

In his very first letter to the girl, Williams said he could not wait to get out of jail to "have a good scrape" (sex) with her. Other letters also contained sexual references.

The photographs of the 14-year-old and two other girls, aged 16 and 19, were allegedly taken at an 18th birthday party they all attended at Ms Bonner's home in October last year.

The girls and their families, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, did not give permission for Ms Bonner to use the photographs.

Ms Bonner also allegedly used her daughter's address as a "mailbox" for the prisoners to write to the girls.

When released on January 22, Williams tracked down the 14-year-old girl and ran off with her for six days, leaving her family distraught and police concerned for her safety.

Corrective Services last Friday suspended Ms Bonner - who was profiled by a department magazine for International Women's Day - and have referred the matter to the Crime and Misconduct Commission, child welfare authorities and police.

Williams remains free and has not been charged over his sexual relationship with the 14-year-old.

The other two inmates at the centre of the scandal both served sentences for violent offences.

Corrective Services is also investigating Ms Bonner for allowing inmates to make unsupervised telephone calls but has yet to find evidence to substantiate the claims.

In one incident, Ms Bonner allegedly allowed inmate Troy Blackman, who has convictions for escape and attempted escape, to ring a former girlfriend from Maryborough jail. The woman complained to prison authorities and asked how Blackman was able to contact her.

The woman apparently told Corrective Services there was no recorded message announcing the call was from the jail - which is standard for outgoing calls.

The Courier-Mail approached Ms Bonner last Thursday but she denied the allegations and declined to comment further.

The Queensland Prison Officers Association criticised the management at the jail for not removing Ms Bonner from her position or placing her under increased supervision when the allegations were raised.

Spokesman Brian Newman said the security of the jail and staff had been compromised.

"Staff had refused to work with her because they feared for their own safety and that of their colleagues," he said.

The Courier-Mail

Ok I need to seriously take this all in, I am really sick. Joyce Bonner is an extremly beautiful lady, she runs the spiritual centre for the aboriginal community, and is a lovely and magnificent person. I just cant believe what I am reading.
I am going to look into this and get back on this one. I just dont know what to say. Staff could of not feared for there safety of a very kind hearted woman.
I am coming back to this. I just dont know what to say. :( :(

As anyone who has read my posts knows I was a prisoner at Maryborough Correctional Facility last year and am awaiting trial and may have to go back to Maryborough if things don't work out. I Know Joyce Bonner from my time in Maryborough. I was the education Clerk in the Education Block where Joyce worked as a Cultural Liason Officer in the Aboriginal Spiritual Centre. I spoke with her many times about personal problems,
feelings and prison related stuff. She always had time for me and she always had a beatiful smile on her face.

She is a honest, caring, trusting, loving individual who tried to do everything she could for the inmates within reason anyways. She took time out for everyone if they needed her. As I remember it Joyce got along very well with all the staff there at the prison and people always had good things to say about her. Do I think she is guilty of the allegations simply No! I do not believe she would have placed herself in that position nor would she have jepordized anyones saftey. Joyce is probably as honest as they come and she always stuck by the rules. I am saddened to read such nonsense being tossed around about such a wonderful person. She was and probably still is very dedicated to her work hopefully this won't dishearten her and cause her to withdraw from her position because prisons need people like her. I personally know that if Joyce
did introduce the guys to pen friends that is exactly what she would have intended for them to be pen friends and nothing more Joyce would have never knowingly or willingly placed anyone especially a young girl or girls in a position that would have been dangerous or risked them being raped molested or anything else like that. If she did intrtoduce pen friends it would have been for the purpose of giving the guys a chance to make friends to have someone to write to and confide in. And if in fact it is the case, which I doubt seriously, the burden of responsibility falls on the inmate and the pen friend as far as the content of the letters and the meeting between the two after the inmate was released. If the letters to the girls or young ladies became explicit, sexual, or harrassing the girls could have said hey no more of this or they could have just stopped writing.

As far as Troy Blackmon and the phone thing... I was in the same 6 room unit with Troy for about 2 1/2 months he was a nice guy but definetly a manipulator, con artist, and would lie to save his own butt. The thing is in the Education Block there was a phone at reception upon entering the Education block which was supposed to be manned by a guard. But that was not always the case sometimes in the mornings there was no guard until after lunch and that was more frequent than you may believe in a regular week there might be a guard at the Education Block reception area once or twice a week during the mornings and frequently the phone would be left there even though the rules said it was to be locked in a secure room behind reception when there was no guard there. I was accused at least twice along with the head librairian and assistant Librairian of having took the phone when it had gone missing and we were the only inmates in the Education block. And of course we didn't have it and on one of those occasions I was talking with Joyce when the phone went missing so I know she had nothing to do with it.

So in my opinion I don't think Joyce allowed any phone calls I believe the inmates found the right moment during one of theirsmoke breaks and siezed upon it without no one knowing and made the calls. When they were confronted about it they passed the blame to Joyce who was supervising these guys in the spiritual centre. Joyce is not one of these too good to be true ladies she is a one of a kind outstanding, upstanding, and dedicated individual with integrity and very true and deep concerns about the inmates and she wants to help them to get a better outlook on life and help them to be responsible and constructive when they are released.

So there you go My long drawn out opinion :)

Joyce BonnerNyanga, buranga, burangam. Look, listen, know and learn. That’s the foundation on which the Indigenous learning program for Butchulla youngsters is built on, thanks to the hard work of Joyce Bonner. Every Sunday for the past three years Maryborough Correctional Centre’s Cultural Liaison Officer, Joyce, has been one of two teachers educating Indigenous students about the culture, language, beliefs and ceremonies of the Butchulla People of the Fraser Coast region. Joyce completed a Diploma in Australian Indigenous Studies in 2000, before helping to found the Nyanga Buranga Burangam Program for primary school children at Scrub Hill, just outside Maryborough. Last year, she also helped launch a similar program for adults who have been inspired by their children’s new knowledge. As if being a mother of eight doesn’t keep her busy enough, Joyce has also worked with the Kal’ang Respite Centre and assisted the K’gari Elders, who administer land and a healing centre on Fraser Island.

I know for a fact that Joyce Bonner IS NOT guilty of this, and shouldnt be suspended or punished.

Prison cupid 'should be sacked'
By Nikki Todd and John Sheed


A PRISON officer who allegedly introduced a convicted rapist to a teenage girl should be sacked, and an inquiry expanded to cover the roles of all prison support staff, Queensland's opposition said today.

The Department of Corrective Services (DCS) today confirmed a prison officer working in the Maryborough Correction Centre in south-east Queensland had been suspended over allegations involving a minor.

A DCS spokesman said the officer was suspended after an internal investigation. The Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC), the police and the new Child Safety department had been notified of the allegations, he said.

The officer has 28 days to respond to the suspension notice, after which a decision on any disciplinary action would be made if necessary.

The spokesman declined to detail allegations, but a newspaper report (Eds: Courier Mail) today said a cultural liaison officer had provided inmates with photographs and contact details of teenage girls for use as potential penpals.


Contact between an inmate serving time on rape charges and a 14-year-old girl led to the teenager running away with the inmate for six days after his release from jail.

No charges have been laid.

Deputy Opposition leader Jeff Seeney said the cultural liaison officer should be sacked over the issue.

"An employee of the Queensland government has not just failed to protect Queensland children, but actually put them in danger by providing the type of private information ... to a convicted rapist in a jail," Mr Seeney said.

"How on earth did this person believe in her wildest dreams that that was part of her role?"

"Without question, if these charges have any credibility at all, she should be sacked."

Mr Seeney said the CMC should widen its investigation to cover the accountability of all cultural liaison offices and other non-security prison staff.

He said questions over the supervision of liaison officers, their accountability and administration needed to be addressed.

"There certainly needs to be an examination to make sure it is not a widespread problem," he said.

Liberal leader Bob Quinn said the allegations were serious and needed investigation.