Previous Australian Politician Jailed for Above 60 Months for Sexual Offenses

An ex- Australian politician found guilty of attacking two victims connected through work received a sentence to five years and nine months in prison.

Legal Proceedings

Gareth Ward, mid-forties, remained in prison since mid-year after the court found him guilty of raping an individual and attacking another individual, in different occasions in over two years.

The defendant represented the seaside community of Kiama in the New South Wales parliament from over a decade ago. He left his position as a government cabinet member when accusations emerged in 2021 but resisted resigning from parliament and returned to office in 2023.

Court Ruling

Justice Kara Shead took into account Ward's disability of sight disability in her sentence and concluded "no other penalty besides incarceration is appropriate".

The defendant, who appeared via digital means at the courthouse, will serve at least nearly four years in custody before he can apply for parole.

The judge said the legal system needs to "issue a clear statement to like-minded offenders that illegal behaviors such as this will be met with salutary penalties".

Additional Information

Additionally stated the convicted man had "escaped justice for ten years and enjoyed a life without a rehabilitation program or consequence for the offenses during those years".

After his conviction, the individual launched a failed court challenge to remain in government and resigned shortly before the legislature could remove him.

Representatives has indicated before he plans to contest the conviction.

Incident Details

The defendant's nine-week trial in the NSW District Court was told that he invited a inebriated young adult to his property in 2013 and indecently assaulted him repeatedly, despite resistance attempts to resist.

In 2015, he raped a 24-year-old office worker at his home after a function at parliament.

The defendant had argued the later assault never occurred, and that the other complainant was misremembering their meeting from the first incident.

However, prosecutors maintained that notable parallels in the accounts of the victims, who had no connection to each other, demonstrated they were telling the truth.

The panel debated for multiple days before delivering the guilty verdicts.

The political exit led to a replacement vote in the district in autumn, which was claimed by the opposition party.