Prison chief of a sex monster who raped ten female prisoners learns his fate

A former prison guard found guilty of sexually abusing 10 inmates, including a pregnant woman, at a Sydney jail will remain behind bars after the state’s highest court rejected his appeal.

Wayne Gregory Astill was sentenced to 23 years in prison after being found guilty on 34 counts, including aggravated sexual assault and indecent touching.

He was found guilty of 27 counts of non-consensual conduct, but admitted seven counts of abuse of office relating to inappropriate consensual sexual conduct.

The jury found that he had sexually abused ten prisoners, one of whom was pregnant at the time, while incarcerated at the Dillwynia Correctional Centre in northwest Sydney.

At the beginning of the year, he appealed against the conviction and sentence before the Court of Criminal Appeal.

His lawyer, Tomislav Bicanic, argued that the trial judge, District Judge Gina O’Rourke, made an error when she gave the jury instructions regarding the “bias” of evidence.

During the trial, the prosecutor argued that the evidence showed that Astill was prone to making sexually suggestive comments, placing himself in situations where he was alone with women, and engaging in sexual acts without their consent.

Mr Bicanic argued that the prosecution had relied on evidence that was “very different in terms of severity and seriousness” and on conduct for which Astill had not been charged.

He argued that Judge O’Rourke should have given the jury further instructions on how to think about the bias evidence to avoid “reasoning errors.”

However, at an appeal hearing in June, prosecutor Elizabeth Nicholson said this was not necessary because the jury had been “correctly instructed” by Judge O’Rourke. O’Rourke had “made it abundantly clear” that she could not find Astill guilty until the victims’ statements were proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

She argued that the jury had been given clear instructions on several occasions regarding the standards of evidence and the burden of proof.

“The jury clearly understood these instructions,” the prosecutor said at the time.

“There can be no miscarriage of justice or practical disadvantage to the applicant if the jury considers the same evidence.”

His appeal was heard earlier this year by Chief Justice Anthony Bell and Justices Kristina Stern and Richard Button.

On Monday, the Court of Criminal Appeals issued a unanimous 3-0 decision denying Astill permission to hear his appeal of his conviction and sentence.

Astill will be eligible for parole in December 2037.