Ex- Down Under Public Figure Jailed for More Than 60 Months for Criminal Acts
A former lawmaker sentenced of assaulting two individuals he met through his position was given to 69 months in jail.
Legal Proceedings
The defendant, forty-four, was in custody since July after a jury found him guilty of attacking a victim and indecently assaulting another individual, in separate incidents in over two years.
Ward represented the oceanfront municipality of the regional area in the NSW legislature from over a decade ago. He resigned as a political party cabinet member when allegations surfaced in 2021 but resisted resigning from his seat and returned to office in 2023.
Court Ruling
Justice Kara Shead considered Ward's disability of vision impairment in the ruling and found "no different consequence besides detention is appropriate".
Ward, who was present via digital means at the judicial venue, will undergo at least 45 months in detention before he can request early release.
The judge stated the judicial system needs to "deliver a strong warning to similar individuals that criminal acts of this nature will be met with serious punishments".
Further Details
Additionally stated Ward had "avoided punishment for a decade and enjoyed a life free from a treatment or punishment for the offenses during that period".
Post-trial, Ward initiated a failed appeal attempt to stay in parliament and left office shortly before the legislature could expel him.
Representatives has stated earlier he intends to challenge the ruling.
Incident Details
The defendant's extended court case in the state court heard that he brought a intoxicated young adult to his residence in the first incident and attacked him on multiple occasions, despite resistance attempts to fight back.
Subsequently, he raped a young office worker at his residence after a function at parliament.
Ward had maintained the 2015 rape didn't happen, and that the other complainant was inaccurate regarding their encounter from the earlier year.
But the prosecution argued that significant resemblances in the testimonies of the victims, who were unacquainted with one another, demonstrated they were accurate in their accounts.
Court members considered for three days before announcing the convictions.
Ward's resignation led to a replacement vote in Kiama in September, which was secured by the Labor candidate.
