Ex- Australian Lawmaker Imprisoned for Above 60 Months for Sex Crimes
A former Australian politician found guilty of attacking two victims he met through his position has been sentenced to five years and nine months in jail.
Case Details
Gareth Ward, forty-four, has been in jail since last summer after judicial panel convicted him of raping a victim and indecently assaulting another, in separate incidents in over two years.
Ward acted for the seaside community of the regional area in the state parliament from over a decade ago. He stepped down as a Liberal Party cabinet member when the claims surfaced in 2021 but declined to leave his seat and returned to office in 2023.
Court Ruling
Judge the judicial figure considered his visual impairment of vision impairment in the ruling and found "no different consequence besides imprisonment could be considered".
Ward, who appeared via digital means at Parramatta District Court, will undergo at minimum nearly four years in prison before he can seek parole.
The judge said the court needs to "send a stern message to like-minded offenders that sexual offendings like these will be met with salutary penalties".
Case Background
The judge added the convicted man had "escaped justice for multiple years and enjoyed a life without a programme or punishment for his crimes during that time".
Post-trial, the individual initiated a rejected appeal attempt to continue in his position and left office shortly before the members could oust him.
His legal team has indicated before he intends to contest the guilty verdict.
Case Facts
Ward's lengthy proceedings in the state court heard that he asked a inebriated young adult to his property in the first incident and indecently assaulted him three times, despite the victim's efforts to resist.
In 2015, he sexually assaulted a mid-twenties office worker at his residence after a gathering at government offices.
Ward had maintained the second incident didn't happen, and that the other complainant was confused about their meeting from the first incident.
However, prosecutors maintained that striking similarities in the accounts of the individuals, who did not know the other, proved they were accurate in their accounts.
A jury deliberated for 72 hours before delivering the convictions.
The political exit prompted a by-election in the district in September, which was won by the opposition party.
