Previous Australian Public Figure Jailed for More Than Five Years for Sex Crimes
An ex- Australian politician convicted of sexually abusing two victims connected through work has been sentenced to five years and nine months in detention.
Legal Proceedings
The former official, 44, remained in custody since July after a jury found him guilty of raping a victim and sexually abusing another individual, in multiple events in over two years.
The defendant served the coastal town of the district in the NSW legislature from 2011. He left his position as a government cabinet member when allegations emerged in 2021 but refused to quit the legislature and was re-elected in 2023.
Judgment Information
Judge the judicial figure evaluated Ward's disability of legal blindness in the judgment and found "no alternative punishment other than detention would be suitable".
Ward, who appeared via digital means at Parramatta District Court, will complete at least three years and nine months in custody before he can request early release.
Justice Shead said the legal system needs to "issue a clear statement to like-minded offenders that illegal behaviors like these will be faced with significant consequences".
Additional Information
The judge added the convicted man had "avoided punishment for ten years and enjoyed a life free from a rehabilitation program or penalty for the offenses during that time".
Post-trial, Ward launched a unsuccessful court challenge to continue in government and stepped down shortly before the legislature could remove him.
Defense attorneys has stated earlier he aims to challenge the conviction.
Trial Evidence
The defendant's nine-week trial in the judicial venue learned that he asked a drunk young adult to his property in 2013 and indecently assaulted him on multiple occasions, despite resistance attempts to resist.
Subsequently, he raped a mid-twenties political staffer at his home after a function at government offices.
Ward had argued the 2015 rape didn't happen, and that the first victim was misremembering their interaction from 2013.
However, prosecutors contended that striking similarities in the accounts of the victims, who were unacquainted with the other, proved they were accurate in their accounts.
A jury deliberated for 72 hours before delivering the convictions.
The political exit caused a replacement vote in the district in last fall, which was won by the Labor candidate.
