A lawyer at the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions allegedly received thousands of dollars in proceeds of crime and had sexual relationships with prison inmates.
Vanessa O’Bryan has been charged with a series of offences, including three counts of misconduct in public office, two counts of accessing restricted data, and hindering the discovery of evidence.
In a second tranche of charges, O’Bryan is accused of knowingly deriving a material benefit from a criminal group and knowingly dealing with proceeds of crime with the intent to conceal.
The criminal proceedings are the latest controversy engulfing the embattled ODPP, which is at the centre of an unrelated parliamentary inquiry.
Police executed a search warrant at O’Bryan’s Ballina home on October 30 last year and seized mobile phones, computers and documents before she was arrested and charged. O’Bryan, a former criminal defence lawyer, was suspended without pay from the ODPP at that time.
Her employment is governed by the Government Sector Employment Act, which allows for the suspension of employees from duty pending a decision in relation to a criminal charge.
NSW Local Court Judge Kathy Crittenden made a non-publication order in December over O’Bryan’s name. That restriction was overturned by the Supreme Court on April 10.
While part of the order remains in place, the accused’s alleged relationships with gangland murderer Joshua Baines and inmate Terry Sampson may be reported.
She is “alleged to have had a sexual...
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