Advertisement

Former Burnside jail nurse handed house arrest in drug case

A former nurse at the Burnside jail has been sentenced in a case of drug distribution that allegedly involved inmates and guards.

On May 16, the Nova Scotia Supreme Court gave Kathy MacLean an 18-month sentence beginning with house arrest, followed by a 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. curfew and then supervision.

In March 2013, police arrested 14 people and laid 43 charges related to smuggling drugs into the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Burnside.

MacLean was charged with several counts of trafficking a controlled substance and one count of breach of trust, which allegedly occurred between July 2012 and November 2012.

In January of 2015, she plead guilty to one count of providing steroids to an inmate at the Correctional Facility and one count of breach of trust and she is now being sentenced on those two counts.

The bust was part of Operation Harvey, a five-month undercover investigation into drug trafficking.

Testimony

MacLean held various positions as a nurse with the Capital District Health Authority starting in 1994. In late 2012, a series of events occurred that led to her eventual termination.

MacLean testified that working at the prison was very stressful. She explained some inmates would send sexual notes, or make rape threats. Despite this, nurses were still required to deliver prescribed medications to inmates.

She approached the Employee Assistance Program, but said she didn't receive much help.

MacLean began to develop a relationship with one offender, Kenneth Wingfield. She said she felt his love for her was real, especially after previous abusive relationships.

Their relationship developed to the point when Wingfield began calling MacLean at home. She said when the calls became regular, she began to avoid them.

Soon after, two children around age seven arrived at MacLean's door with a bouquet of flowers, in which a package containing steroid pills was hidden.

MacLean said she now knew she was being asked to smuggle drugs into the prison.

The next day, she told Wingfield she didn't want to bring the package. MacLean testified his reply was, "[You have] no choice, that they now know where you live and the car you drive."

Feeling like she didn't have a choice, MacLean brought the package the next day.

In October 2012, MacLean's relationship with Wingfield became known to her employer which led to her suspension and eventual dismissal.

The court's decision says the purpose of the sting that led to MacLean's arrest was to find evidence of contraband being brought into the jail.