Former Australian Lawmaker Sentenced for Over 60 Months for Criminal Acts
One-time lawmaker found guilty of sexually abusing two young men connected through professional activities received a sentence to five years and nine months in jail.
Trial Information
The former official, forty-four, remained in custody since last summer after judicial panel convicted him of raping a victim and indecently assaulting another individual, in multiple events in 2013 and 2015.
The defendant represented the oceanfront municipality of the regional area in the NSW legislature from over a decade ago. He resigned as a Liberal Party cabinet member when accusations surfaced in 2021 but declined to leave the legislature and was re-elected in last year.
Judgment Information
Justice the judicial figure evaluated Ward's disability of vision impairment in the judgment and found "no different consequence except for imprisonment would be suitable".
Ward, who appeared via digital means at Parramatta District Court, will complete at no less than nearly four years in detention before he can seek early release.
The court official declared the legal system needs to "deliver a strong warning to like-minded offenders that illegal behaviors of this nature will be met with significant consequences".
Further Details
The judge added the defendant had "escaped justice for a decade and experienced freedom free from a programme or punishment for his crimes during that period".
Following the verdict, Ward launched a failed legal bid to stay in parliament and stepped down just prior to the congress could oust him.
Defense attorneys has stated earlier he intends to appeal the conviction.
Trial Evidence
Ward's extended court case in the NSW District Court learned that he brought a inebriated teenager to his residence in 2013 and sexually abused him on multiple occasions, despite his attempts to fight back.
Two years later, he attacked a 24-year-old political staffer at his property after a gathering at government offices.
He had argued the second incident never occurred, and that the additional accuser was inaccurate regarding their meeting from the earlier year.
But the prosecution argued that striking similarities in the accounts of the two men, who had no connection to each other, showed they were accurate in their accounts.
The panel deliberated for 72 hours before delivering the findings of guilt.
Ward's resignation led to a by-election in his constituency in September, which was claimed by the opposition party.
