Former Australian Public Figure Imprisoned for More Than Five Years for Sex Crimes
A former public official sentenced of assaulting two individuals he met through professional activities has been sentenced to 69 months in jail.
Legal Proceedings
Gareth Ward, 44, was in jail since July after a jury found him guilty of attacking an individual and indecently assaulting another individual, in different occasions in 2013 and 2015.
The defendant represented the seaside community of the regional area in the state government from the year 2011. He resigned as a political party cabinet member when the claims surfaced in 2021 but resisted resigning from parliament and was re-elected in 2023.
Judgment Information
The presiding officer the court official took into account the defendant's condition of vision impairment in the ruling and found "no different consequence except for imprisonment would be suitable".
The convicted individual, who was present via digital means at the courthouse, will serve at least three years and nine months in prison before he can request early release.
The judge declared the legal system needs to "send a stern message to similar individuals that sexual offendings of this nature will be subject to serious punishments".
Additional Information
She also said the defendant had "escaped justice for multiple years and enjoyed a life without a rehabilitation program or punishment for his crimes during that time".
Following the verdict, Ward launched a unsuccessful court challenge to continue in government and stepped down moments before the congress could remove him.
Representatives has previously said he aims to challenge the conviction.
Incident Details
The defendant's extended court case in the state court learned that he asked a inebriated 18-year-old man to his property in 2013 and indecently assaulted him repeatedly, despite the victim's efforts to resist.
In 2015, he raped a 24-year-old office worker at his home after an event at the legislature.
The defendant had argued the later assault didn't happen, and that the additional accuser was misremembering their interaction from the earlier year.
However, prosecutors argued that notable parallels in the accounts of the victims, who did not know each other, proved they were accurate in their accounts.
The panel considered for three days before announcing the guilty verdicts.
Ward's resignation caused a by-election in his constituency in autumn, which was claimed by the opposition party.