Former Down Under Public Figure Imprisoned for More Than 60 Months for Criminal Acts
An ex- lawmaker sentenced of attacking two victims he met through work has been sentenced to 69 months in jail.
Legal Proceedings
Gareth Ward, mid-forties, was in custody since last summer after a jury found him guilty of raping a victim and attacking a second person, in multiple events in 2013 then 2015.
The defendant served the coastal town of the regional area in the New South Wales legislature from over a decade ago. He stepped down as a government minister when the claims surfaced in 2021 but refused to quit his seat and won again in 2023.
Judgment Information
The presiding officer the court official evaluated Ward's disability of vision impairment in her sentence and concluded "no different consequence other than incarceration would be suitable".
The defendant, who was present via digital means at Parramatta District Court, will undergo at least nearly four years in detention before he can seek conditional freedom.
The judge declared the judicial system needs to "issue a clear statement to like-minded offenders that illegal behaviors like these will be subject to significant consequences".
Case Background
She also said the convicted man had "evaded consequences for a decade and lived freely without a programme or penalty for his actions during those years".
Post-trial, the politician launched a unsuccessful court challenge to stay in parliament and resigned shortly before the members could oust him.
His legal team has previously said he aims to challenge the conviction.
Case Facts
The defendant's nine-week trial in the state court was told that he asked a inebriated teenager to his home in 2013 and sexually abused him repeatedly, despite his attempts to fight back.
Two years later, he attacked a mid-twenties office worker at his residence after a function at government offices.
He had argued the 2015 rape was fabricated, and that the first victim was misremembering their meeting from the earlier year.
But the prosecution maintained that significant resemblances in the testimonies of the victims, who were unacquainted with each other, demonstrated they were being honest.
Court members considered for multiple days before delivering the findings of guilt.
Ward's resignation prompted a special election in the district in autumn, which was won by the challenger.
