Former Down Under Public Figure Imprisoned for Over Five Years for Sex Crimes
One-time lawmaker found guilty of attacking two victims encountered via work has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison.
Case Details
The defendant, forty-four, was in prison since mid-year after the court convicted him of sexually assaulting a victim and attacking another individual, in different occasions in 2013 and 2015.
The politician acted for the oceanfront municipality of the district in the New South Wales parliament from the year 2011. He left his position as a government official when allegations surfaced in 2021 but refused to quit parliament and was re-elected in 2023.
Judgment Information
Judge the court official took into account Ward's disability of sight disability in the judgment and concluded "no alternative punishment besides imprisonment is appropriate".
The defendant, who appeared via video-link at the courthouse, will complete at least nearly four years in custody before he can request conditional freedom.
Justice Shead stated the legal system needs to "send a stern message to similar individuals that sexual offendings like these will be met with serious punishments".
Further Details
She also said the convicted man had "escaped justice for ten years and experienced freedom without a programme or punishment for his actions during that time".
Post-trial, the individual attempted a unsuccessful legal bid to continue in government and stepped down moments before the congress could expel him.
His legal team has previously said he aims to appeal the conviction.
Case Facts
Ward's nine-week trial in the state court was told that he asked a intoxicated 18-year-old man to his home in 2013 and sexually abused him repeatedly, despite resistance attempts to fight back.
Subsequently, he raped a young office worker at his property after an event at government offices.
The defendant had maintained the later assault didn't happen, and that the other complainant was confused about their encounter from the earlier year.
But the prosecution argued that significant resemblances in the testimonies of the victims, who had no connection to one another, showed they were accurate in their accounts.
The panel deliberated for multiple days before returning the convictions.
The political exit led to a special election in the district in September, which was won by the opposition party.
