Previous Australian Public Figure Imprisoned for Above Five Years for Sex Crimes
A former public official found guilty of assaulting two victims connected through work has been sentenced to 69 months in detention.
Case Details
The former official, mid-forties, remained in custody since July after a jury determined his guilt of raping a victim and attacking another individual, in separate incidents in 2013 and 2015.
The defendant served the seaside community of the district in the New South Wales legislature from 2011. He left his position as a government cabinet member when accusations surfaced in recent years but declined to leave his seat and was re-elected in 2023.
Sentencing Details
The presiding officer the judicial figure considered his visual impairment of vision impairment in the ruling and determined "no other penalty besides imprisonment is appropriate".
Ward, who participated via digital means at the judicial venue, will undergo at no less than 45 months in prison before he can apply for conditional freedom.
The judge declared the judicial system needs to "issue a clear statement to similar individuals that illegal behaviors such as this will be subject to salutary penalties".
Further Details
Additionally stated the convicted man had "evaded consequences for ten years and enjoyed a life without a rehabilitation program or consequence for his actions during that period".
Post-trial, the politician launched a unsuccessful legal bid to remain in government and stepped down just prior to the members could expel him.
Defense attorneys has indicated before he intends to challenge the guilty verdict.
Incident Details
Ward's extended court case in the judicial venue learned that he invited a drunk teenager to his home in 2013 and sexually abused him repeatedly, despite his attempts to oppose.
In 2015, he attacked a mid-twenties government employee at his property after an event at parliament.
Ward had argued the later assault didn't happen, and that the additional accuser was misremembering their interaction from the earlier year.
The state's attorneys maintained that significant resemblances in the statements of the two men, who had no connection to each other, showed they were telling the truth.
Court members debated for 72 hours before returning the convictions.
His departure prompted a replacement vote in the district in September, which was secured by the opposition party.
