Ex- Australian Politician Sentenced for More Than Half a Decade for Sexual Offenses
One-time lawmaker convicted of assaulting two individuals connected through professional activities was given to nearly six years in prison.
Case Details
The former official, forty-four, remained in custody since last summer after a jury found him guilty of sexually assaulting a victim and sexually abusing a second person, in different occasions in 2013 and 2015.
Ward represented the oceanfront municipality of the regional area in the state government from the year 2011. He resigned as a political party cabinet member when the claims emerged in 2021 but resisted resigning from the legislature and won again in 2023.
Court Ruling
The presiding officer the court official considered Ward's disability of sight disability in the ruling and found "no other penalty except for detention is appropriate".
Ward, who was present via remote connection at the judicial venue, will complete at no less than three years and nine months in custody before he can apply for early release.
Justice Shead declared the legal system needs to "send a stern message to potential criminals that illegal behaviors such as this will be met with significant consequences".
Further Details
She also said Ward had "evaded consequences for ten years and lived freely absent a treatment or punishment for his crimes during that time".
Following the verdict, the politician attempted a rejected court challenge to continue in government and stepped down just prior to the congress could remove him.
Defense attorneys has previously said he aims to challenge the ruling.
Incident Details
The defendant's nine-week trial in the state court learned that he invited a inebriated teenager to his property in 2013 and attacked him repeatedly, despite the victim's efforts to resist.
In 2015, he attacked a young government employee at his property after a function at government offices.
The defendant had maintained the later assault didn't happen, and that the first victim was misremembering their interaction from the earlier year.
However, prosecutors argued that significant resemblances in the testimonies of the two men, who had no connection to the other, demonstrated they were accurate in their accounts.
A jury debated for 72 hours before returning the findings of guilt.
His departure prompted a by-election in his constituency in September, which was secured by the Labor candidate.
