Previous Down Under Lawmaker Sentenced for Above 60 Months for Sexual Offenses
One-time lawmaker convicted of assaulting two individuals he met through his position received a sentence to five years and nine months in jail.
Trial Information
The defendant, mid-forties, was in jail since mid-year after judicial panel convicted him of attacking one man and attacking another individual, in separate incidents in 2013 then 2015.
Ward served the seaside community of Kiama in the New South Wales government from over a decade ago. He left his position as a government cabinet member when allegations surfaced in recent years but refused to quit parliament and returned to office in 2023.
Sentencing Details
The presiding officer the judicial figure took into account Ward's disability of vision impairment in her sentence and concluded "no different consequence other than detention is appropriate".
The convicted individual, who was present via remote connection at Parramatta District Court, will undergo at no less than 45 months in custody before he can request early release.
The judge declared the legal system needs to "deliver a strong warning to similar individuals that illegal behaviors like these will be faced with serious punishments".
Additional Information
She also said the defendant had "evaded consequences for a decade and lived freely free from a treatment or punishment for his actions during that time".
Post-trial, the politician launched a rejected appeal attempt to continue in government and left office just prior to the legislature could oust him.
Representatives has previously said he intends to challenge the conviction.
Trial Evidence
The defendant's lengthy proceedings in the NSW District Court was told that he brought a drunk teenager to his residence in 2013 and attacked him repeatedly, despite resistance attempts to fight back.
Two years later, he raped a 24-year-old political staffer at his home after a function at government offices.
Ward had maintained the later assault never occurred, and that the other complainant was confused about their meeting from the earlier year.
The state's attorneys argued that notable parallels in the accounts of the individuals, who had no connection to one another, proved they were accurate in their accounts.
A jury deliberated for 72 hours before returning the findings of guilt.
The political exit prompted a replacement vote in Kiama in last fall, which was claimed by the opposition party.
