Previous Down Under Lawmaker Sentenced for Over Half a Decade for Sexual Offenses
An ex- public official sentenced of attacking two victims encountered via his position received a sentence to nearly six years in prison.
Legal Proceedings
Gareth Ward, forty-four, remained in prison since mid-year after the court determined his guilt of raping an individual and sexually abusing a second person, in separate incidents in 2013 then 2015.
The politician represented the coastal town of Kiama in the NSW legislature from over a decade ago. He stepped down as a government official when allegations came to light in 2021 but declined to leave parliament and returned to office in last year.
Judgment Information
Justice the judicial figure evaluated the defendant's condition of legal blindness in the judgment and determined "no other penalty except for detention would be suitable".
The convicted individual, who was present via video-link at the judicial venue, will undergo at no less than three years and nine months in detention before he can seek parole.
The judge stated the judicial system needs to "send a stern message to like-minded offenders that criminal acts like these will be met with salutary penalties".
Further Details
The judge added Ward had "escaped justice for ten years and lived freely free from a programme or consequence for his crimes during that time".
After his conviction, the individual initiated a rejected legal bid to remain in government and left office moments before the legislature could oust him.
Defense attorneys has indicated before he plans to appeal the guilty verdict.
Trial Evidence
His nine-week trial in the judicial venue was told that he asked a intoxicated teenager to his home in 2013 and indecently assaulted him on multiple occasions, despite his attempts to fight back.
In 2015, he attacked a 24-year-old political staffer at his property after an event at parliament.
Ward had claimed the second incident was fabricated, and that the other complainant was inaccurate regarding their meeting from the first incident.
However, prosecutors argued that notable parallels in the testimonies of the individuals, who did not know one another, demonstrated they were being honest.
The panel deliberated for multiple days before returning the guilty verdicts.
The political exit caused a special election in the district in last fall, which was won by the opposition party.