A former NRL WAG and reality TV contestant has been threatened with a shiv, regularly deprived of food, and subjected to frequent strip searches after being jailed for stealing $52,000.
In an emotional handwritten letter tendered to the court, Arabella Del Busso revealed she has been “broken” and feels “violated” by the “traumatising” reality of life behind bars.
The 34-year-old model claims her celebrity status has caused her to become a target for other inmates, who have regularly “stood over” her to steal her food and personal items.
She rose to prominence while dating former NRL star Josh Reynolds but her fame turned to infamy when she publicly admitted she had faked a miscarriage during their relationship.
Del Busso has been in custody since February, when she was jailed for 20 months for stealing $52,000 from her employer while working as a receptionist.
However, her sentence was slashed to just five months after a successful appeal in the NSW District Court this week.
“S**t,” the inmate could be heard saying on the audiovisual link after she learned she still had three months left to serve behind bars.
In a letter penned in her prison cell in protective custody, the ex-NRL WAG complained being in jail had been “a very difficult and traumatising experience”.
She described feeling “unsafe” because she is required to shower, go to the toilet, and undress in front of other female inmates who know who she is because of her “high profile” status.
The professional boxer explained in her letter, tendered to the court, that she had been deterred from sharing her concerns with prison guards after she was “threatened with being stabbed with a shive (sic).”
“I try to get through each day and keep my head down but each day feels so long and hard, watching my back constantly,” she despaired in her handwritten letter.
Del Busso’s close friend, who speaks to her up as often as twice a day, said the 34-year-old has been bullied by the other inmates who frequently steal her food.
During the appeal, the court heard Del Busso said she would surrender her food because she didn’t “want to get hurt” or “cause any issues”.
“Arabella shared she is extremely distressed and described her experience in custody as a living nightmare which does not end,” her friend wrote in a statement.
In her own letter, the model described feeling “violated” and “traumatised” by regular strip searches at the prison, which are carried out in front of two corrective services officers.
“You are required to lift up your bra and show your breasts,” she wrote.
“Then either pull your underwear down to your knees, or completely off, bend over, spread your bum cheeks and lift one foot up at a time.”
Del Busso revealed she didn’t disclose all the difficulties she had endured in prison because she knew her letter would be read by the prison guards and she feared for her safety.
“I feel broken, defeated and helpless,” she told the court.
“Every day I feel such anxiety and fear about how I am going to just get through that day.”
During her appeal, the court heard Del Busso has been diagnosed with anxiety and depression.
Judge John Pickering accepted Del Busso feared for her physical and mental wellbeing in custody while asserting jail terms are intended to deter people from committing crimes.
“I am conscious every day in jail is difficult, as I’m sure it has been for the appellant. But she put herself in that position,” he said.
The judge also noted Del Busso is a boxer who might have been expected to fare better than other inmates behind bars.
In slashing her sentence, he took into consideration her mental health conditions and lack of criminal history and determined she posed no risk to the community.
The court heard the model was working as a receptionist for Rheumatology Specialist Care at their practices in Kogarah and Randwick when she devised a scheme to steal tens of thousands of dollars.
Between September 2019 and February 2020, she netted more than $52,000 through a fraud that was savaged by Judge Pickering as “pretty basic” and “easily detected in time”.
The court heard Del Busso told clients on multiple occasions that the card machine at the medical centre wasn’t working and asked them to pay in cash instead.
“Unfortunately our EFTPOS facilities are down so it will be a cash transaction today of $170 sorry for the inconvenience,” she said in a text message sent out to 18 patients.
She fleeced $35,785 from the medical centre’s Kogarah facility and $16,565 from the Randwick office over five months before a manager noticed the financial discrepancies.
The court documents show the lingerie model had deposited $18,215 into her personal bank accounts.
Judge Pickering slammed the theft as “brazen” and said there was “little doubt” she had stolen the money “purely for her own financial gain”.
“There can be no excuse for simply stealing money from a small business, irrespective of any financial position that anyone gets themselves into,” he said.
The court heard the model has borrowed money to pay back the funds she embezzled from her former employer.
“I am so embarrassed and sorry for what I did to my employer and not a day goes by where I don’t completely regret (it),” she told the court.
“Not only have I let myself down but I have let my loved ones, friends, and fans down.”
Del Busso will be released in July.