Previous Australian Lawmaker Imprisoned for Above 60 Months for Sexual Offenses
One-time public official found guilty of attacking two young men encountered via his position has been sentenced to 69 months in detention.
Legal Proceedings
The defendant, 44, remained in jail since last summer after judicial panel convicted him of raping an individual and indecently assaulting another individual, in separate incidents in over two years.
The politician served the oceanfront municipality of the district in the New South Wales parliament from over a decade ago. He left his position as a political party cabinet member when accusations emerged in 2021 but declined to leave the legislature and was re-elected in 2023.
Sentencing Details
The presiding officer the judicial figure evaluated Ward's disability of sight disability in the ruling and concluded "no other penalty besides incarceration could be considered".
Ward, who participated via remote connection at Parramatta District Court, will complete at least nearly four years in prison before he can apply for early release.
The judge declared the court needs to "deliver a strong warning to similar individuals that illegal behaviors such as this will be met with serious punishments".
Further Details
The judge added Ward had "evaded consequences for a decade and experienced freedom absent a treatment or consequence for his actions during that period".
After his conviction, the politician attempted a unsuccessful appeal attempt to remain in his position and stepped down just prior to the legislature could remove him.
His legal team has stated earlier he intends to contest the ruling.
Case Facts
The defendant's nine-week trial in the state court heard that he asked a inebriated teenager to his residence in 2013 and sexually abused him repeatedly, despite resistance attempts to oppose.
Two years later, he raped a young government employee at his property after an event at the legislature.
He had maintained the second incident was fabricated, and that the additional accuser was inaccurate regarding their interaction from 2013.
The state's attorneys contended that notable parallels in the accounts of the two men, who had no connection to the other, demonstrated they were telling the truth.
A jury debated for three days before returning the guilty verdicts.
The political exit prompted a by-election in his constituency in autumn, which was claimed by the opposition party.
