A 32-year-old prosecutor faces serious charges after allegedly engaging in intimate relationships with multiple prison inmates and improperly accessing hundreds of confidential files.
Alleged Relationships with Inmates
Vanessa O’Bryan, a solicitor with the New South Wales Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), previously worked as a criminal defense lawyer. Court documents reveal she allegedly maintained a relationship with convicted gangland killer Joshua Baines, who serves a 27-year sentence for his role in the 2016 murder of crime figure Pasquale Barbaro in Sydney’s Earlwood.
Police records indicate O’Bryan exchanged hundreds of conversations with Baines between May 8, 2023, and January 16, 2025, aimed at intimate sexual relations. A police prosecutor told the court that O’Bryan had no legitimate reason as a DPP solicitor to contact inmates.
“She’s not only willing to have sexual relationships with inmates, but also compromise police investigations as a result of those relationships,” the prosecutor stated. “Police don’t know what the actual impact of her accessing the records is … because they are still investigating.”
O’Bryan also allegedly had an intimate relationship with inmate Terry Sampson. She reported receiving abusive text messages from Sampson’s then-girlfriend, Sharna Cain, who wrote: “I swear you and Terry aren’t getting away with this hahaha big lawyer I’m coming for you.”
Cain pleaded guilty to intimidation and received a 12-month community correction order. During a three-way call involving O’Bryan, Cain, and Sampson, comments suggested a sexualized relationship. O’Bryan reportedly sent Cain a selfie of a shirtless Sampson captioned “I love you so much Vanessa” to confirm the relationship.
Unauthorized Access to Confidential Files
Investigators allege O’Bryan accessed 1,439 pages related to 284 criminal matters with which she had no connection, without any legitimate legal purpose. A police document states: “The accused is a DPP solicitor and former defence solicitor who has had access to high-level criminals on a professional and personal level.”
“The extent of the impact of the information that she has provided to these persons is not known and (is) potentially extremely damaging to other court matters and/or the safety of individuals,” it adds.
Legal Proceedings and Bail
O’Bryan was arrested in November 2025 and spent months on remand. Initially charged with misconduct in public office, illegal access to restricted data, and hindering evidence, she faced additional allegations of benefiting from a criminal group and concealing crime proceeds.
She secured bail following her initial release on police bail. On Friday, in the New South Wales Supreme Court, Justice Sarah McNaughton lifted suppression orders, stating: “There is a higher public interest in open justice where a solicitor has been charged with serious criminal offences.”
