Ex- Australian Public Figure Jailed for Above Five Years for Sexual Offenses
An ex- public official convicted of assaulting two young men he met through work received a sentence to 69 months in jail.
Legal Proceedings
The former official, forty-four, has been in custody since last summer after a jury convicted him of raping a victim and indecently assaulting another, in separate incidents in 2013 then 2015.
Ward represented the seaside community of Kiama in the NSW parliament from the year 2011. He left his position as a government official when accusations surfaced in 2021 but refused to quit his seat and returned to office in 2023.
Court Ruling
Judge Kara Shead evaluated his visual impairment of sight disability in her sentence and concluded "no alternative punishment other than detention could be considered".
The convicted individual, who appeared via digital means at Parramatta District Court, will serve at no less than 45 months in prison before he can seek conditional freedom.
The court official declared the judicial system needs to "send a stern message to like-minded offenders that sexual offendings such as this will be met with salutary penalties".
Further Details
Additionally stated the convicted man had "evaded consequences for a decade and lived freely absent a treatment or consequence for the offenses during that period".
After his conviction, Ward launched a rejected appeal attempt to stay in parliament and left office moments before the members could oust him.
Representatives has stated earlier he plans to challenge the ruling.
Incident Details
The defendant's extended court case in the state court heard that he asked a intoxicated teenager to his property in 2013 and indecently assaulted him three times, despite the victim's efforts to oppose.
In 2015, he sexually assaulted a 24-year-old government employee at his property after a function at the legislature.
The defendant had maintained the second incident didn't happen, and that the additional accuser was misremembering their meeting from the earlier year.
The state's attorneys argued that significant resemblances in the testimonies of the victims, who did not know the other, showed they were being honest.
The panel debated for three days before delivering the findings of guilt.
His departure led to a special election in his constituency in September, which was won by the Labor candidate.
