Convicted Australian drug smuggler Cassie Sainsbury has shared a video with an eye-opening insight into life in Colombia's notorious women's prison.
On her first night in a Colombian prison, the then 22-year-old South Australian suffered a shocking attack.
“The first night you are basically put in one cell-like room with prisoners who have been there for some time,” she told NCA NewsWire this week in a wide-ranging interview.
“And this girl had this gang thing going for her, and they were stealing stuff from people who had just come in, and it was really frustrating because I didn't have anything to steal anyway. And the girl raped me.
It was a terrifying start to almost three years of fighting for survival at Bogota's notorious Colombian pastor El Buen.
Sainsbury was caught smuggling 5.8kg of cocaine at Bogota International Airport on a flight to Australia in 2017.
She became a media sensation, earning the nickname “Cocaine Cassie,” and the now 29-year-old has written a memoir detailing her side of the terrible story.
“I was on the good side of the guards,” she replied when asked how she coped in prison on a daily basis, Sainsbury recalls.
“In that sense, I was a bit misunderstood by my prisoners because I never argued with the guards.
“I've never caused any problems and you know, if they searched and found prohibited items like phones and stuff, it would be the end of the world and I'd just say, 'Well, what do you expect, we're not supposed to have them.' It's their job.”
But the specter of violence obscured everything, she added.
In one case, Sainsbury testified that she kicked and screamed to fend off a guard who was trying to sexually assault her.
“I screamed,” she said.
“Then the other guard who was basically guarding the door did nothing until she finally realized he wasn't going to get anywhere.”
Cassie Sainsbury was caught with 5.8 kg of cocaine at Dorado International Airport in Bogota, Colombia on April 11, 2017.
Now she has written a memoir about the time spent in custody and the consequences of the crime committed
One of the main guards, a brutal lieutenant, “liked to beat women,” she said.
By then he had already beaten me twice. Fists, kicks,” Sainsbury said.
– There was a lot of violence from this lieutenant.
– I tried to report him when I was there, but the documents were lost.
Life was difficult in many other ways. The food was “disgusting,” she said, and she became ill from lack of food.
“In fact, we were given a lot of rotten and moldy food, so much so that the kitchen was closed multiple times,” Sainsbury said.
“They would have worms and maggots in them. There would be hair. The other prisoners who served food served it with their hands.
“I had a lot of trouble eating, to the point where I got very sick.
“There was a shop inside the prison that sold crackers and things like that to help you survive. We could also choose what to eat from the food provided to us.
“It was only very small portions. It was supposed to give you energy for what you needed and that was it.
El Buen Pastor women's prison in Colombia. Photo: 60 minutes
Cassandra Sainsbury from Australia arrives for a court hearing in Bogota in 2017
Sainsbury said it was unlikely she would ever face justice for the abuses committed at the El Buen Pastor facility, run by Colombia's INPEC prison agency.
“When I first got out on parole, I really wanted to take a look at it and try to accomplish something with it. I started working at a (Colombian lawyer) law firm,” she said.
“We joined INPEC, which runs the prison system.
“And they just said, 'Prisoners have no rights.' There are no rights. You are nothing. You go in there, there is no freedom.”
“(But) you still have basic dignity as a man in prison.
“Have simple, little things that protect you and keep you safe. Even though you have committed a crime, it does not mean that you have to go through such things.
It just never got any further. There is so much corruption there. In a sense, they protect their own people.
Sainsbury and her partner Tatiana. Photo: Instagram
Sainsbury was sentenced to six years in prison and then released in 2020 after serving two years, 11 months and 21 days.
She then spent 27 months on parole in Colombia.
Drug traffickers and wealthy Westerners rolling up dollar bills to snort cocaine from Sydney to London are responsible for the wave of violence that has swept through Mexico and Latin America.
Judges, politicians, journalists and tens of thousands of innocent people are murdered year after year because of the drug trade, and Sainsbury has said she feels “self-loathing” for her role in fueling this violence.
To make up for this, she said, proceeds from the book would be donated to three charities: Life Without Barriers, MumKind and Kickstart for Kids.
“Sales of this book will go to charity,” she said.
“One of them is Life without Barriers, which has a really good rehabilitation program.
“I constantly try to give back wherever I can.”
Her story is about redemption and second chances, she said.
Cover of Sainsbury's new book published by New Holland Publishers. Photo: Supplied
“For me, this book was about providing answers and explanations,” she said.
“I finally have a chance to speak out and I really hope this book sheds light on the complex reality of what crime is, what prison is really about and what you can go through.
I hope that everyone who reads this will see how easy it is to be manipulated and go down a very destructive path.
“Encouraging others to make better choices and, above all, to see the humanity in those who have made mistakes.”
Sainsbury currently lives in Adelaide with his Colombian partner Tatiana, whom he calls his “anchor in all of this”.
“I was portrayed as a nasty, horrible person, and I just wanted to give people insight into how it really went down and how I got there,” she said.
– I'm kind of sorry, but at no point was that intended.
Mrs Sainsbury said she had “no contact” with her mother but had reconciled with her sister.
“She and my nephews are basically my family now,” she said.
“He's the one I spend all my time with.”
Her memoir is “Cocaine Cassie: Setting the Record Straight” from New Holland Publishers.
