A Figtree man who drove the getaway car that picked up Goulburn prison escapee Beau Wiles will likely avoid jail after a magistrate agreed to have him assessed for an intensive correction order.
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Robert Craig Egan, 40, was sentenced to seven months’ jail in Port Kembla Local Court on Wednesday for aiding in the escape of an inmate, however he will be assessed to see whether he is suitable to serve the prison term in the community under restricted liberty.
Under the order, Egan would be required to do 32 hours of unpaid work a month, attend any counselling or courses recommended by his supervisor and submit to regular urine analysis.
Magistrate Mark Douglass said while a message of deterrence had to be sent by the punishment imposed, he accepted that Egan had no prior knowledge of Wiles’ escape plan and had effectively been “conned” by Wiles’ girlfriend, Rebecca Watts, who had asked him to drive her to the prison on September 30 under the pretense of visiting her lover.
“He wasn't there on a premeditated basis but on a Good Samaritan basis,” Magistrate Douglass said of Egan’s presence at the jail that day.
“[But] it's appropriate to send a clear message to the community that this behaviour will not be tolerated and if you participate in this sort of act you will be punished.”
Egan said he was unaware of the escape plan until Wiles jumped into the back of his Holden Commodore, which was parked outside the jail complex, and Watts yelled at him “go, go, drive!”.
Egan said he drove to a bottle shop in Moss Vale, then dropped the fugitive couple at an address in Koonawarra.
The court heard Egan returned to his home but did not report Wiles’ escape to police, even after seeing the heavy media coverage of the incident.
He was arrested at his Gibson Road home around 11pm on October 1, six hours after police captured Wiles and Watts in a car that was stopped just off the M1 Motorway on Five Islands Road.
Egan had his bail continued following Wednesday’s court appearance. He will find out in February whether the intensive correction order assessment was favourable.
Meantime, Wiles also appeared in court this week via video link from jail, with his lawyer formally entering a plea of guilty to escaping charges.
He will be sentenced at Wollongong District Court in February.
