Former Australian Lawmaker Imprisoned for More Than 60 Months for Sex Crimes
A former Australian politician convicted of assaulting two individuals encountered via professional activities has been sentenced to five years and nine months in detention.
Trial Information
The former official, mid-forties, remained in prison since mid-year after judicial panel found him guilty of raping an individual and sexually abusing another, in separate incidents in 2013 and 2015.
The politician served the seaside community of Kiama in the state parliament from over a decade ago. He resigned as a political party minister when accusations emerged in recent years but refused to quit his seat and returned to office in last year.
Sentencing Details
The presiding officer the judicial figure took into account his visual impairment of sight disability in the ruling and determined "no other penalty except for detention could be considered".
Ward, who appeared via video-link at the courthouse, will serve at least three years and nine months in detention before he can seek conditional freedom.
Justice Shead said the judicial system needs to "deliver a strong warning to potential criminals that criminal acts like these will be met with serious punishments".
Additional Information
Additionally stated the convicted man had "escaped justice for multiple years and lived freely without a programme or punishment for the offenses during that time".
Post-trial, the individual attempted a failed court challenge to continue in his position and resigned just prior to the congress could oust him.
Defense attorneys has previously said he plans to challenge the ruling.
Case Facts
Ward's nine-week trial in the state court heard that he brought a inebriated teenager to his home in 2013 and indecently assaulted him repeatedly, despite the victim's efforts to fight back.
Subsequently, he raped a 24-year-old government employee at his property after an event at the legislature.
He had maintained the 2015 rape didn't happen, and that the other complainant was confused about their meeting from the earlier year.
The state's attorneys maintained that striking similarities in the accounts of the victims, who had no connection to one another, demonstrated they were accurate in their accounts.
A jury debated for three days before returning the guilty verdicts.
Ward's resignation prompted a special election in Kiama in autumn, which was claimed by the challenger.
