Previous Australian Lawmaker Imprisoned for More Than Half a Decade for Sexual Offenses
One-time public official sentenced of sexually abusing two individuals connected through work has been sentenced to five years and nine months in prison.
Legal Proceedings
The former official, 44, was in custody since July after judicial panel determined his guilt of raping one man and attacking a second person, in different occasions in over two years.
The politician represented the oceanfront municipality of the district in the New South Wales legislature from over a decade ago. He resigned as a Liberal Party official when accusations surfaced in 2021 but resisted resigning from parliament and won again in 2023.
Judgment Information
Judge Kara Shead evaluated his visual impairment of sight disability in her sentence and found "no other penalty other than imprisonment could be considered".
Ward, who participated via remote connection at Parramatta District Court, will complete at minimum three years and nine months in detention before he can apply for parole.
Justice Shead said the legal system needs to "deliver a strong warning to potential criminals that criminal acts of this nature will be faced with significant consequences".
Case Background
She also said Ward had "escaped justice for ten years and experienced freedom absent a programme or consequence for his actions during that time".
Following the verdict, the politician initiated a failed legal bid to stay in parliament and resigned just prior to the members could remove him.
His legal team has previously said he aims to contest the guilty verdict.
Trial Evidence
His lengthy proceedings in the NSW District Court was told that he invited a intoxicated 18-year-old man to his home in 2013 and indecently assaulted him on multiple occasions, despite resistance attempts to fight back.
Two years later, he sexually assaulted a mid-twenties political staffer at his residence after a gathering at the legislature.
Ward had argued the 2015 rape never occurred, and that the first victim was inaccurate regarding their interaction from the first incident.
The state's attorneys maintained that striking similarities in the testimonies of the two men, who were unacquainted with the other, demonstrated they were accurate in their accounts.
The panel considered for multiple days before returning the convictions.
The political exit led to a replacement vote in his constituency in last fall, which was secured by the opposition party.