Vanessa O’Bryan, a 32-year-old solicitor with the New South Wales Workplace of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), faces critical allegations of participating in intimate relationships with a number of jail inmates whereas improperly accessing a whole lot of confidential recordsdata.
Alleged Relationships with Inmates
O’Bryan allegedly maintained a relationship with Joshua Baines, a convicted gangland killer serving a 27-year sentence for his position within the 2016 homicide of crime determine Pasquale Barbaro in Sydney’s Earlwood. She beforehand represented Baines as a legal protection lawyer.
Police data point out a whole lot of conversations between O’Bryan and Baines from Could 8, 2023, to January 16, 2025, geared toward facilitating intimate sexual relations. A police prosecutor said in court docket that O’Bryan had no reputable purpose as a DPP solicitor to contact jail inmates.
“She’s not solely keen to have sexual relationships with inmates, but in addition compromise police investigations because of these relationships,” the prosecutor added. “Police do not know what the precise affect of her accessing the data is … as a result of they’re nonetheless investigating.”
O’Bryan additionally faces accusations of an intimate relationship with inmate Terry Sampson. She reportedly alerted police after receiving abusive textual content messages from Sampson’s then-girlfriend, Sharna Cain, who wrote: “I swear you and Terry don’t get away with this hahaha massive lawyer I am coming for you.”
Cain pleaded responsible to intimidation and obtained a 12-month neighborhood correction order. Throughout a three-way name involving O’Bryan, Cain, and Sampson, feedback prompt a sexualized relationship. O’Bryan despatched Cain a selfie of a shirtless Sampson captioned “I like you a lot Vanessa” to substantiate the connection.
Unauthorized Entry to Recordsdata
A police doc reveals O’Bryan accessed 1,439 pages associated to 284 legal issues with which she had no connection. “The accused is a DPP solicitor and former defence solicitor who has had entry to high-level criminals on an expert and private stage,” it states.
“The extent of the affect of the knowledge that she has offered to those individuals isn’t identified and (is) probably extraordinarily damaging to different court docket issues and/or the security of people.”
Costs and Courtroom Proceedings
Arrested in November 2025, O’Bryan was initially charged with misconduct in public workplace, unlawful entry to restricted knowledge, and hindering proof, and launched on bail. Further expenses of benefiting from a legal group and concealing crime proceeds led to her remand.
She just lately secured bail after months in custody. On Friday, within the New South Wales Supreme Courtroom, Justice Sarah McNaughton lifted suppression orders, stating: “There’s a increased public curiosity in open justice the place a solicitor has been charged with critical legal offences.”
The DPP initiated an investigation following Cain’s report back to authorities.
