Former Down Under Politician Jailed for Over Five Years for Sex Crimes
A former lawmaker convicted of sexually abusing two victims connected through professional activities received a sentence to five years and nine months in detention.
Legal Proceedings
The former official, 44, remained in custody since last summer after the court convicted him of sexually assaulting an individual and attacking another individual, in different occasions in over two years.
Ward served the coastal town of the district in the state parliament from 2011. He left his position as a political party cabinet member when allegations came to light in 2021 but declined to leave parliament and returned to office in last year.
Judgment Information
Justice the judicial figure evaluated the defendant's condition of legal blindness in her sentence and found "no different consequence except for imprisonment would be suitable".
The defendant, who participated via video-link at Parramatta District Court, will undergo at no less than nearly four years in detention before he can apply for early release.
The judge said the legal system needs to "deliver a strong warning to potential criminals that criminal acts like these will be faced with significant consequences".
Case Background
The judge added the defendant had "avoided punishment for a decade and experienced freedom absent a treatment or consequence for the offenses during that time".
Post-trial, the politician initiated a rejected appeal attempt to stay in his position and stepped down just prior to the members could remove him.
Representatives has indicated before he aims to appeal the conviction.
Incident Details
The defendant's lengthy proceedings in the NSW District Court learned that he invited a drunk teenager to his property in 2013 and sexually abused him repeatedly, despite resistance attempts to oppose.
In 2015, he raped a mid-twenties political staffer at his home after a function at the legislature.
He had maintained the second incident was fabricated, and that the first victim was misremembering their meeting from the first incident.
But the prosecution contended that striking similarities in the testimonies of the victims, who had no connection to one another, proved they were being honest.
Court members considered for multiple days before announcing the guilty verdicts.
His departure led to a special election in his constituency in autumn, which was won by the opposition party.
