Previous Down Under Public Figure Sentenced for More Than Half a Decade for Sex Crimes
An ex- Australian politician convicted of assaulting two young men encountered via his position was given to 69 months in prison.
Legal Proceedings
Gareth Ward, mid-forties, has been in jail since July after a jury convicted him of sexually assaulting a victim and sexually abusing a second person, in multiple events in over two years.
The politician acted for the coastal town of Kiama in the state government from the year 2011. He stepped down as a Liberal Party minister when allegations surfaced in recent years but refused to quit parliament and returned to office in 2023.
Sentencing Details
Judge the judicial figure considered the defendant's condition of legal blindness in the judgment and concluded "no other penalty except for detention would be suitable".
Ward, who participated via remote connection at the courthouse, will serve at least three years and nine months in custody before he can seek conditional freedom.
Justice Shead stated the judicial system needs to "issue a clear statement to similar individuals that illegal behaviors of this nature will be subject to serious punishments".
Further Details
She also said the convicted man had "avoided punishment for a decade and lived freely absent a rehabilitation program or consequence for the offenses during that period".
After his conviction, the politician initiated a rejected court challenge to remain in government and stepped down just prior to the congress could expel him.
Representatives has previously said he intends to challenge the conviction.
Case Facts
His nine-week trial in the judicial venue was told that he invited a drunk teenager to his home in the first incident and sexually abused him repeatedly, despite resistance attempts to fight back.
In 2015, he sexually assaulted a mid-twenties government employee at his residence after a function at the legislature.
The defendant had argued the 2015 rape was fabricated, and that the first victim was misremembering their meeting from the first incident.
But the prosecution argued that notable parallels in the accounts of the victims, who had no connection to the other, demonstrated they were telling the truth.
Court members considered for 72 hours before delivering the guilty verdicts.
Ward's resignation led to a special election in his constituency in autumn, which was won by the challenger.
