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A LOVED-UP Kiwi prisoner has been hauled through the courts for using a jail radio to make a “romantic” phone call to the prison librarian.
The judge presiding over the case convicted Patrick Cook, 30, but decided the $NZ2.50 ($2) compensation being sought was “unnecessary”.
Cook has served six years for armed robbery. He made the call on vehicle digital radios while cleaning prison vans at Hawke’s Bay Prison, on the east coast of the North Island, the Dominion Post newspaper reported.
He contacted the jail’s female librarian at her home at 10am on August 16 last year, a call his lawyer, Aiden Broughton, said was “of a romantic nature”.
The Corrections Department sought reparation for the call, worth $NZ2.50, but it was declined by Judge Bridget Mackintosh who convicted and discharged Cook.
Prison management said: “The librarian cooperated fully with the police investigation and no disciplinary action could be taken against her as she no longer worked at the prison.”
Corrections believe hundreds of calls were made by prisoners over more than a year to a value of more than $NZ300 ($238).
They decided to remove radios from the vans after this incident and all phone bills are now checked regularly for anomalies.
