Ex- Australian Public Figure Imprisoned for Over Half a Decade for Sexual Offenses
A former Australian politician convicted of sexually abusing two young men encountered via work received a sentence to 69 months in detention.
Case Details
The defendant, forty-four, remained in jail since July after the court found him guilty of attacking a victim and indecently assaulting a second person, in multiple events in 2013 and 2015.
The politician acted for the seaside community of the regional area in the NSW government from 2011. He resigned as a Liberal Party official when accusations emerged in 2021 but declined to leave his seat and won again in 2023.
Court Ruling
Judge the court official took into account the defendant's condition of legal blindness in the ruling and concluded "no different consequence besides incarceration could be considered".
Ward, who appeared via video-link at the courthouse, will complete at minimum three years and nine months in custody before he can request conditional freedom.
The judge said the legal system needs to "send a stern message to potential criminals that illegal behaviors such as this will be faced with significant consequences".
Case Background
The judge added the defendant had "avoided punishment for ten years and enjoyed a life free from a programme or consequence for the offenses during that time".
After his conviction, the politician initiated a rejected court challenge to stay in government and stepped down moments before the legislature could expel him.
Defense attorneys has indicated before he aims to appeal the guilty verdict.
Incident Details
His lengthy proceedings in the judicial venue was told that he brought a inebriated 18-year-old man to his property in 2013 and indecently assaulted him three times, despite resistance attempts to fight back.
In 2015, he raped a mid-twenties government employee at his residence after an event at parliament.
The defendant had argued the 2015 rape didn't happen, and that the additional accuser was misremembering their interaction from the earlier year.
But the prosecution argued that striking similarities in the accounts of the two men, who were unacquainted with the other, showed they were being honest.
The panel deliberated for 72 hours before returning the guilty verdicts.
His departure led to a replacement vote in Kiama in autumn, which was won by the challenger.
