🔗 Share this article Former Down Under Lawmaker Sentenced for Over Half a Decade for Sex Crimes Gareth Ward was jailed for five years and nine months for the sexual abuse of two individuals One-time public official sentenced of assaulting two individuals connected through his position has been sentenced to nearly six years in detention. Legal Proceedings The former official, mid-forties, has been in prison since July after the court convicted him of sexually assaulting a victim and indecently assaulting another, in separate incidents in 2013 and 2015. Ward represented the coastal town of the regional area in the NSW legislature from the year 2011. He stepped down as a government minister when the claims surfaced in recent years but declined to leave the legislature and won again in 2023. Court Ruling The presiding officer the court official took into account his visual impairment of legal blindness in the ruling and determined "no different consequence besides imprisonment could be considered". Ward, who was present via remote connection at Parramatta District Court, will serve at least nearly four years in custody before he can apply for parole. The judge said the judicial system needs to "deliver a strong warning to potential criminals that criminal acts such as this will be met with significant consequences". Further Details She also said the defendant had "escaped justice for ten years and enjoyed a life absent a rehabilitation program or consequence for his crimes during that period". After his conviction, the individual initiated a unsuccessful legal bid to stay in his position and resigned shortly before the legislature could oust him. His legal team has indicated before he aims to challenge the guilty verdict. Incident Details The defendant's nine-week trial in the NSW District Court was told that he brought a drunk young adult to his home in 2013 and sexually abused him repeatedly, despite his attempts to resist. Subsequently, he sexually assaulted a mid-twenties political staffer at his residence after a gathering at parliament. He had maintained the 2015 rape was fabricated, and that the additional accuser was inaccurate regarding their encounter from the first incident. However, prosecutors contended that notable parallels in the statements of the victims, who were unacquainted with one another, proved they were telling the truth. A jury debated for 72 hours before returning the convictions. The political exit prompted a special election in Kiama in autumn, which was won by the opposition party.