Former Australian Politician Imprisoned for Over Half a Decade for Sexual Offenses
An ex- public official found guilty of assaulting two young men he met through his position has been sentenced to five years and nine months in detention.
Legal Proceedings
Gareth Ward, mid-forties, was in jail since last summer after a jury convicted him of raping one man and sexually abusing another, in different occasions in over two years.
Ward served the coastal town of Kiama in the state parliament from the year 2011. He resigned as a government cabinet member when allegations emerged in recent years but resisted resigning from the legislature and returned to office in last year.
Court Ruling
The presiding officer the court official took into account Ward's disability of legal blindness in her sentence and found "no alternative punishment besides incarceration would be suitable".
The convicted individual, who appeared via digital means at the courthouse, will undergo at least 45 months in detention before he can apply for parole.
The court official declared the legal system needs to "send a stern message to like-minded offenders that criminal acts such as this will be subject to salutary penalties".
Additional Information
Additionally stated Ward had "escaped justice for ten years and experienced freedom without a rehabilitation program or penalty for his actions during those years".
Following the verdict, the individual initiated a unsuccessful court challenge to continue in his position and resigned moments before the members could expel him.
His legal team has indicated before he plans to challenge the ruling.
Trial Evidence
Ward's extended court case in the judicial venue learned that he asked a inebriated 18-year-old man to his home in the first incident and indecently assaulted him three times, despite resistance attempts to oppose.
In 2015, he raped a 24-year-old office worker at his home after a gathering at government offices.
Ward had maintained the second incident didn't happen, and that the other complainant was misremembering their interaction from the earlier year.
However, prosecutors contended that significant resemblances in the testimonies of the victims, who had no connection to the other, showed they were being honest.
Court members considered for three days before delivering the guilty verdicts.
The political exit prompted a special election in Kiama in last fall, which was secured by the challenger.
