Previous Australian Politician Imprisoned for Above Five Years for Sexual Offenses
One-time public official sentenced of assaulting two individuals connected through his position has been sentenced to five years and nine months in prison.
Trial Information
Gareth Ward, 44, remained in prison since July after the court convicted him of sexually assaulting one man and sexually abusing a second person, in different occasions in 2013 then 2015.
Ward represented the oceanfront municipality of the district in the New South Wales parliament from 2011. He resigned as a political party official when the claims came to light in 2021 but refused to quit his seat and was re-elected in last year.
Court Ruling
Judge the judicial figure evaluated Ward's disability of legal blindness in her sentence and determined "no other penalty besides incarceration could be considered".
The defendant, who appeared via digital means at Parramatta District Court, will undergo at least 45 months in detention before he can apply for early release.
The court official declared the judicial system needs to "send a stern message to like-minded offenders that criminal acts such as this will be subject to salutary penalties".
Further Details
The judge added the convicted man had "evaded consequences for multiple years and lived freely absent a programme or penalty for his actions during those years".
After his conviction, the politician launched a unsuccessful appeal attempt to stay in parliament and left office moments before the members could remove him.
Defense attorneys has stated earlier he plans to contest the ruling.
Incident Details
The defendant's extended court case in the state court learned that he brought a drunk young adult to his home in 2013 and attacked him on multiple occasions, despite the victim's efforts to resist.
Two years later, he attacked a 24-year-old office worker at his property after a function at parliament.
He had argued the second incident never occurred, and that the other complainant was misremembering their encounter from the earlier year.
The state's attorneys maintained that notable parallels in the statements of the individuals, who had no connection to the other, showed they were being honest.
The panel debated for 72 hours before announcing the guilty verdicts.
His departure led to a by-election in Kiama in September, which was claimed by the Labor candidate.
