Ex- Australian Lawmaker Sentenced for More Than Half a Decade for Sexual Offenses
One-time Australian politician found guilty of assaulting two young men he met through his position was given to five years and nine months in jail.
Trial Information
The defendant, forty-four, remained in jail since mid-year after judicial panel found him guilty of raping a victim and sexually abusing another, in separate incidents in 2013 and 2015.
The defendant acted for the oceanfront municipality of the district in the state parliament from the year 2011. He resigned as a government cabinet member when allegations came to light in 2021 but refused to quit parliament and won again in 2023.
Court Ruling
Justice the judicial figure evaluated his visual impairment of legal blindness in the ruling and found "no other penalty besides incarceration is appropriate".
The defendant, who was present via digital means at the courthouse, will serve at minimum 45 months in prison before he can seek parole.
The judge declared the court needs to "issue a clear statement to like-minded offenders that sexual offendings of this nature will be met with serious punishments".
Additional Information
She also said Ward had "evaded consequences for multiple years and enjoyed a life without a programme or punishment for his actions during that time".
After his conviction, the politician launched a rejected court challenge to stay in government and left office just prior to the legislature could remove him.
His legal team has indicated before he plans to appeal the guilty verdict.
Incident Details
Ward's nine-week trial in the state court heard that he brought a inebriated young adult to his residence in the first incident and indecently assaulted him three times, despite his attempts to resist.
Two years later, he attacked a young office worker at his home after a gathering at government offices.
The defendant had maintained the second incident didn't happen, and that the first victim was inaccurate regarding their interaction from the first incident.
The state's attorneys argued that notable parallels in the accounts of the two men, who did not know one another, showed they were accurate in their accounts.
A jury debated for three days before announcing the guilty verdicts.
The political exit prompted a special election in his constituency in last fall, which was secured by the opposition party.
