An offense that a District Court judge called “hitting at the heart” of the penal system resulted in a former prison warden in Adelaide being sentenced to at least another year in jail.
Brenton John Williams, a former general manager of the Adelaide Remand Center, was today given a two-year, 11-month prison term with a “merciful” one-year, 7-month non-parole period for one count of theft.
After his arrest in July of last year, the 47-year-old has already served more than six months in prison.
Williams allegedly stole about $113,000 in confiscated inmate funds and petty cash from a safe within his office between April and July of last year, according to Judge Jo-Anne Deuter.
She said that over the same time frame, the father of two spent more than $1 million at the Adelaide Casino’s poker machines.
Following the failure of a hotel business, Williams owed roughly $160,000 to the Australian Taxation Office and in superannuation payments, $70,000 to creditors, and $14,000 to ReturnToWorkSA.
Williams stole money to “attempt [to] juggle the payments,” according to Judge Deuter, because he was afraid of losing his employment with Serco and did not want to file for bankruptcy.
The court was informed that Williams achieved a “substantial win” from gambling and was able to pay some creditors and return the money he had taken to the detention center safe.
According to Judge Deuter, this made you think that continuing to win money at gambling was the only way to improve your financial circumstances.
“You were wagering quite sizable sums of money in pursuit of that win.”
Williams lost $47,000 annually between 2016 and 2021, but the court was informed that his gambling habit grew out of control and cost him more than $1 million in 2022.
Williams bet more over $100,000 in 15 days last year, according to Judge Deuter.
She stated, “Instead of filing for bankruptcy, you took money to gamble in an effort to try [to] escape that consequence.
“Your type of offense cuts to the core of our legal system, where individuals in positions of authority must be held beyond reproach to preserve trust in our public institutions,”
Given his previous position within the correctional system, Judge Deuter stated that Williams had lost his job, his reputation, and had to be segregated from the general jail population.
Williams, according to her, was attending gambling counseling and had a high chance of recovering.
