236QMisconduct offence

236Q Misconduct offence

236Q Misconduct offence

(1) A correctional employee is guilty of an offence if the correctional employee engages in—

(a) sexual conduct or

(b) an intimate relationship with an inmate.

Maximum penalty—20 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years, or both.

(1A) A correctional employee who is in a pre-existing relationship as a couple with an inmate is guilty of an offence if the correctional employee—

(a) engages in sexual conduct with the inmate, or

(b) continues to engage in an intimate relationship with the inmate and the relationship—

(i) causes a risk or potential risk to the safety or security of a correctional centre or correctional complex or to good order and discipline within a correctional centre or correctional complex, or

(ii) compromises the proper administration of a sentence.

Maximum penalty—20 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years, or both.

(1B) A correctional employee, other than an employee referred to in subsection (2), is guilty of an offence if—

(a) the correctional employee and another person engage—

(i) in sexual conduct, or

(ii) an intimate relationship, and

(b) the other person is subject to a community-based order, and

(c) the conduct or relationship compromises the proper administration of a community-based order.

Maximum penalty—20 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years, or both.

(1C) It is not relevant for the purposes of subsection (1B) whether or not the correctional employee is in a pre-existing relationship as a couple with the other person.

(2) It is not an offence under this section if a correctional employee did not know, while the employee engaged in sexual conduct or an intimate relationship with a person subject to a community-based order, that the other person was subject to the order.

(3) Proceedings for an offence against this section must be commenced not later than 2 years after the date the offence is alleged to have been committed.