Former Australian Public Figure Imprisoned for Above Half a Decade for Criminal Acts

A former lawmaker sentenced of attacking two victims encountered via work has been sentenced to nearly six years in jail.

Case Details

Gareth Ward, forty-four, has been in custody since last summer after the court found him guilty of attacking an individual and attacking another, in multiple events in 2013 and 2015.

Ward served the coastal town of Kiama in the NSW government from over a decade ago. He stepped down as a political party minister when the claims came to light in 2021 but refused to quit his seat and returned to office in 2023.

Judgment Information

Judge Kara Shead considered the defendant's condition of sight disability in her sentence and found "no different consequence other than incarceration could be considered".

The defendant, who appeared via remote connection at the courthouse, will undergo at least nearly four years in prison before he can seek parole.

The judge declared the legal system needs to "send a stern message to similar individuals that criminal acts of this nature will be met with significant consequences".

Further Details

She also said Ward had "avoided punishment for ten years and lived freely absent a programme or penalty for his actions during that period".

Post-trial, Ward attempted a unsuccessful legal bid to continue in parliament and resigned moments before the members could remove him.

Representatives has indicated before he intends to appeal the ruling.

Case Facts

The defendant's lengthy proceedings in the state court was told that he asked a intoxicated 18-year-old man to his property in 2013 and sexually abused him three times, despite the victim's efforts to fight back.

In 2015, he attacked a young government employee at his property after an event at government offices.

Ward had claimed the later assault was fabricated, and that the additional accuser was inaccurate regarding their encounter from the first incident.

The state's attorneys maintained that significant resemblances in the accounts of the individuals, who did not know one another, showed they were being honest.

Court members debated for multiple days before announcing the convictions.

Ward's resignation led to a by-election in his constituency in autumn, which was claimed by the challenger.