Former Down Under Public Figure Sentenced for More Than Half a Decade for Sexual Offenses
One-time Australian politician convicted of assaulting two victims he met through his position received a sentence to five years and nine months in detention.
Case Details
Gareth Ward, forty-four, has been in prison since mid-year after judicial panel determined his guilt of raping a victim and sexually abusing another individual, in separate incidents in over two years.
Ward represented the coastal town of Kiama in the New South Wales parliament from the year 2011. He stepped down as a political party official when allegations came to light in 2021 but declined to leave his seat and returned to office in 2023.
Sentencing Details
Judge Kara Shead evaluated his visual impairment of vision impairment in the ruling and found "no other penalty besides incarceration is appropriate".
Ward, who appeared via remote connection at the courthouse, will complete at least 45 months in detention before he can apply for parole.
The court official said the legal system needs to "issue a clear statement to like-minded offenders that sexual offendings like these will be met with significant consequences".
Additional Information
Additionally stated the defendant had "avoided punishment for multiple years and lived freely absent a rehabilitation program or consequence for his actions during that period".
After his conviction, the politician initiated a unsuccessful court challenge to continue in his position and stepped down just prior to the congress could expel him.
Defense attorneys has indicated before he intends to contest the conviction.
Incident Details
Ward's extended court case in the state court learned that he brought a drunk teenager to his home in 2013 and sexually abused him on multiple occasions, despite the victim's efforts to oppose.
In 2015, he sexually assaulted a mid-twenties government employee at his residence after an event at the legislature.
Ward had argued the second incident didn't happen, and that the first victim was confused about their interaction from 2013.
But the prosecution contended that significant resemblances in the accounts of the individuals, who did not know one another, proved they were telling the truth.
A jury deliberated for multiple days before delivering the guilty verdicts.
The political exit prompted a special election in his constituency in last fall, which was claimed by the opposition party.
