Previous Australian Politician Jailed for Above Five Years for Criminal Acts
A former public official found guilty of assaulting two victims he met through his position received a sentence to five years and nine months in prison.
Case Details
Gareth Ward, mid-forties, was in custody since July after the court determined his guilt of sexually assaulting one man and indecently assaulting a second person, in separate incidents in 2013 then 2015.
Ward represented the oceanfront municipality of Kiama in the NSW government from 2011. He stepped down as a Liberal Party minister when allegations emerged in recent years but declined to leave the legislature and won again in 2023.
Sentencing Details
The presiding officer Kara Shead took into account his visual impairment of legal blindness in her sentence and found "no alternative punishment except for incarceration would be suitable".
The convicted individual, who was present via remote connection at the courthouse, will undergo at minimum 45 months in detention before he can request early release.
Justice Shead said the judicial system needs to "deliver a strong warning to like-minded offenders that sexual offendings like these will be faced with serious punishments".
Further Details
She also said the defendant had "evaded consequences for ten years and enjoyed a life absent a rehabilitation program or consequence for his crimes during those years".
After his conviction, Ward initiated a rejected court challenge to remain in parliament and stepped down shortly before the legislature could expel him.
Defense attorneys has indicated before he intends to challenge the ruling.
Case Facts
His lengthy proceedings in the state court was told that he brought a intoxicated young adult to his home in 2013 and sexually abused him on multiple occasions, despite resistance attempts to fight back.
In 2015, he raped a 24-year-old government employee at his residence after an event at the legislature.
He had maintained the later assault never occurred, and that the additional accuser was inaccurate regarding their encounter from the earlier year.
However, prosecutors argued that striking similarities in the statements of the two men, who did not know the other, showed they were telling the truth.
A jury deliberated for multiple days before delivering the convictions.
The political exit caused a by-election in Kiama in last fall, which was secured by the Labor candidate.
