Ex- Australian Lawmaker Jailed for Above 60 Months for Sex Crimes
A former public official sentenced of assaulting two victims connected through professional activities received a sentence to 69 months in prison.
Trial Information
The defendant, 44, remained in jail since mid-year after the court determined his guilt of raping an individual and attacking another individual, in multiple events in over two years.
The defendant served the oceanfront municipality of Kiama in the state legislature from over a decade ago. He stepped down as a Liberal Party minister when the claims emerged in 2021 but resisted resigning from the legislature and was re-elected in 2023.
Judgment Information
Judge Kara Shead evaluated Ward's disability of vision impairment in her sentence and determined "no alternative punishment other than detention would be suitable".
The defendant, who participated via remote connection at Parramatta District Court, will complete at minimum three years and nine months in prison before he can seek conditional freedom.
The judge stated the judicial system needs to "send a stern message to like-minded offenders that sexual offendings such as this will be faced with serious punishments".
Further Details
She also said the defendant had "evaded consequences for multiple years and experienced freedom free from a treatment or penalty for his actions during those years".
Post-trial, the politician attempted a rejected court challenge to remain in his position and resigned just prior to the congress could oust him.
His legal team has stated earlier he plans to contest the guilty verdict.
Trial Evidence
The defendant's extended court case in the judicial venue learned that he invited a inebriated teenager to his property in 2013 and attacked him on multiple occasions, despite the victim's efforts to fight back.
Subsequently, he attacked a mid-twenties office worker at his property after a function at parliament.
The defendant had maintained the later assault never occurred, and that the additional accuser was misremembering their interaction from 2013.
However, prosecutors argued that notable parallels in the accounts of the two men, who had no connection to the other, showed they were accurate in their accounts.
A jury deliberated for multiple days before delivering the convictions.
Ward's resignation caused a replacement vote in Kiama in autumn, which was claimed by the opposition party.
