Ex- Australian Public Figure Imprisoned for More Than 60 Months for Sex Crimes
An ex- lawmaker sentenced of assaulting two young men he met through his position has been sentenced to 69 months in detention.
Trial Information
The former official, forty-four, has been in prison since July after judicial panel found him guilty of raping one man and attacking a second person, in different occasions in over two years.
The politician acted for the coastal town of Kiama in the New South Wales legislature from over a decade ago. He left his position as a government official when the claims emerged in 2021 but declined to leave the legislature and was re-elected in last year.
Judgment Information
Judge the judicial figure evaluated the defendant's condition of vision impairment in the ruling and concluded "no different consequence besides incarceration would be suitable".
Ward, who was present via digital means at the courthouse, will undergo at minimum 45 months in detention before he can seek parole.
The court official declared the legal system needs to "deliver a strong warning to like-minded offenders that illegal behaviors such as this will be met with salutary penalties".
Case Background
She also said the defendant had "evaded consequences for multiple years and lived freely free from a treatment or penalty for the offenses during that time".
After his conviction, the politician launched a unsuccessful court challenge to remain in his position and left office shortly before the congress could remove him.
Representatives has previously said he plans to challenge the guilty verdict.
Case Facts
Ward's extended court case in the state court learned that he brought a inebriated 18-year-old man to his home in 2013 and attacked him three times, despite resistance attempts to resist.
In 2015, he attacked a 24-year-old office worker at his property after a function at the legislature.
The defendant had claimed the 2015 rape was fabricated, and that the other complainant was misremembering their interaction from the earlier year.
But the prosecution maintained that significant resemblances in the accounts of the individuals, who were unacquainted with the other, demonstrated they were telling the truth.
The panel considered for multiple days before returning the findings of guilt.
His departure caused a replacement vote in Kiama in last fall, which was secured by the Labor candidate.
