Details revealed: Prisoner Joel Back pleads guilty to escape from minimum security prison near Mt Barker

A man who was on the run for more than a day after fleeing from Pardelup Prison Farm in Mt Barker has been handed additional jail time with details of his escape and time on the run revealed for the first time. Joel Back was serving a prison sentence for burglary, stealing and fraud offences when he escaped the minimum-security facility near Forest Hill on October 22. An extensive police search was launched for the 42-year-old before he presented to a farmer at a property near Kendenup the following day and was arrested soon after about 5.30pm. Appearing in Albany Magistrates Court via video link from Albany Regional Prison on Thursday, Back pleaded guilty to escaping from lawful custody and was sentenced for the charge. Legal aid lawyer Lucy Bourne told the court her client had been feeling isolated at Pardelup Prison Farm but had not hatched a plan to leave, rather it was an opportunistic offence. Ms Bourne said Back had spent a significant period of about 15 years in jail during his adult life and his night on the run was “one of the most difficult” he had experienced. The court was told that during a routine muster at Pardelup about 12.20pm on October 22, Back was not present and a further search of the area failed to locate him. About 20 minutes later a second muster still had Back unaccounted for and police were informed, with a search of the surrounding area launched. Inquiries by police had unearthed a sighting of Back about 9.30am on October 22, walking across the facility’s oval in his prison clothing and carrying a water bottle. Police prosecutor Sergeant Matt Hartfield said at the time of the offence, Back had about five months remaining on his sentence. Sgt Hartfield said the offence was serious given Back was a sentenced prisoner who decided to leave the grounds of a custodial facility and that significant resources had been used in the search. The prosecution recommended that the court consider a further term of imprisonment. Ms Bourne said Back accepted he should not have left the prison grounds and spent two days in isolation after being taken back into custody. Magistrate Dianne Scaddan said the charge was on the higher end of escaping lawful custody. “Escaping undermines the good work of the prisons,” Ms Scaddan said. “The circumstances at a prison farm, it’s a lower security facility and a facility of that type is preferable for most prisoners. “That is not an invitation for prisoners at any facility to escape. “(Authorities) had to coordinate a search for you and those resources could have been used in other areas.” Ms Scaddan sentenced Back to a three-month jail term for the offence, to be cumulative on his existing sentence. In coming to the verdict, Ms Scaddan took into account the fact Back did not make the situation worse by being arrested without incident and his early guilty plea.