Previous Down Under Public Figure Jailed for Over Five Years for Criminal Acts
A former Australian politician convicted of assaulting two young men encountered via work has been sentenced to 69 months in prison.
Case Details
Gareth Ward, forty-four, has been in custody since mid-year after the court convicted him of sexually assaulting an individual and indecently assaulting a second person, in multiple events in 2013 and 2015.
The defendant served the oceanfront municipality of the regional area in the state legislature from over a decade ago. He stepped down as a political party cabinet member when the claims emerged in 2021 but resisted resigning from parliament and returned to office in last year.
Court Ruling
Justice the court official considered the defendant's condition of legal blindness in the judgment and found "no alternative punishment except for detention would be suitable".
The convicted individual, who appeared via remote connection at the judicial venue, will undergo at least three years and nine months in custody before he can seek parole.
The judge declared the court needs to "send a stern message to potential criminals that criminal acts such as this will be subject to salutary penalties".
Additional Information
Additionally stated Ward had "avoided punishment for a decade and lived freely absent a rehabilitation program or penalty for the offenses during that time".
Post-trial, the individual launched a rejected legal bid to continue in his position and left office moments before the congress could expel him.
Defense attorneys has indicated before he aims to appeal the guilty verdict.
Trial Evidence
His lengthy proceedings in the NSW District Court learned that he invited a drunk 18-year-old man to his residence in 2013 and indecently assaulted him three times, despite the victim's efforts to fight back.
Subsequently, he sexually assaulted a mid-twenties government employee at his home after a function at parliament.
Ward had claimed the later assault didn't happen, and that the other complainant was misremembering their interaction from 2013.
But the prosecution contended that notable parallels in the statements of the victims, who were unacquainted with one another, showed they were telling the truth.
Court members considered for three days before announcing the findings of guilt.
Ward's resignation caused a special election in the district in autumn, which was secured by the challenger.
