A 25-year-old corrections officer named Amber Clavell in New South Wales avoided jail time on Wednesday after pleading guilty to multiple offenses connected to her secret affair with an inmate. Clavell appeared in Penrith’s District Court, where she was sentenced to a two-year, three-month intensive corrections order to be served in the community.
Clavell was caught attempting to smuggle 33 grams of methamphetamine into the Geoffrey Pearce Correctional Centre, concealed in her bra, at the request of inmate Mark Kennedy, a convicted armed robber.
At the time she began her intimate relationship with Kennedy, Clavell was working in the prison’s Intensive Drug and Alcohol Treatment Program.
The Corrective Services Investigation Unit investigated Clavell in early 2024 after discovering she had accessed the secure NSW Corrective Services system outside of working hours. They also found evidence of her reviewing inmates’ phone calls using the Offender Telephone System. When confronted by officers at work on April 23, Clavell initially claimed she occasionally took work home.
During an interview, Clavell admitted to carrying two balloons filled with drugs in her bra, weighing a total of 33 grams. Although she initially denied knowing Kennedy, detectives later uncovered a love letter to him on her phone that referenced plans for his release. She also admitted to sharing intimate images with him via Snapchat, with Kennedy using an illegal phone to maintain contact.
In text conversations with a friend and fellow corrective services worker, Jessica Elguindy, Clavell expressed regret about becoming pregnant by Kennedy, stating, “I’m an idiot.” Elguindy responded with support, urging her not to be too hard on herself.
Clavell pleaded guilty to several charges, including supplying a prohibited drug, misconduct in public office, and accessing restricted data. In addition to these offenses, Magistrate Stephen Corry considered charges related to engaging in a relationship with an inmate and unlawfully delivering drugs to a detainee when handing down the sentence.
Ultimately, Clavell received a community-based intensive corrections order, allowing her to avoid incarceration while facing the consequences of her actions.
