Ex- Australian Lawmaker Jailed for Over Five Years for Sex Crimes
An ex- lawmaker sentenced of attacking two individuals he met through his position received a sentence to 69 months in prison.
Case Details
The former official, mid-forties, was in jail since July after a jury found him guilty of attacking an individual and indecently assaulting another, in separate incidents in over two years.
Ward represented the oceanfront municipality of Kiama in the New South Wales parliament from 2011. He resigned as a Liberal Party cabinet member when accusations came to light in recent years but resisted resigning from his seat and won again in last year.
Court Ruling
The presiding officer the court official considered Ward's disability of legal blindness in the judgment and concluded "no other penalty besides imprisonment could be considered".
Ward, who participated via remote connection at the judicial venue, will serve at least three years and nine months in prison before he can request conditional freedom.
The court official declared the legal system needs to "issue a clear statement to like-minded offenders that illegal behaviors like these will be faced with salutary penalties".
Case Background
She also said the convicted man had "escaped justice for a decade and lived freely absent a programme or penalty for his crimes during that period".
Post-trial, Ward initiated a rejected legal bid to stay in government and stepped down just prior to the legislature could expel him.
Representatives has indicated before he aims to appeal the conviction.
Incident Details
The defendant's extended court case in the judicial venue was told that he brought a drunk 18-year-old man to his property in 2013 and sexually abused him repeatedly, despite his attempts to oppose.
Subsequently, he raped a mid-twenties political staffer at his residence after a gathering at government offices.
Ward had argued the second incident was fabricated, and that the first victim was confused about their meeting from 2013.
The state's attorneys contended that striking similarities in the testimonies of the two men, who did not know the other, showed they were accurate in their accounts.
Court members considered for 72 hours before returning the findings of guilt.
The political exit caused a replacement vote in Kiama in autumn, which was claimed by the opposition party.
