Previous Australian Lawmaker Jailed for More Than 60 Months for Sex Crimes
One-time lawmaker found guilty of attacking two individuals encountered via professional activities has been sentenced to 69 months in prison.
Case Details
The former official, 44, was in custody since mid-year after the court found him guilty of attacking an individual and sexually abusing a second person, in different occasions in over two years.
Ward represented the oceanfront municipality of Kiama in the state parliament from over a decade ago. He stepped down as a political party official when the claims emerged in recent years but declined to leave his seat and returned to office in 2023.
Judgment Information
The presiding officer the judicial figure considered Ward's disability of sight disability in the ruling and found "no alternative punishment besides detention is appropriate".
The defendant, who appeared via remote connection at the courthouse, will undergo at no less than 45 months in custody before he can request conditional freedom.
The judge stated the legal system needs to "issue a clear statement to potential criminals that criminal acts such as this will be faced with significant consequences".
Case Background
She also said the convicted man had "escaped justice for multiple years and enjoyed a life absent a rehabilitation program or punishment for the offenses during that time".
After his conviction, the individual launched a rejected legal bid to continue in his position and stepped down just prior to the congress could remove him.
His legal team has stated earlier he aims to contest the conviction.
Trial Evidence
The defendant's lengthy proceedings in the state court learned that he brought a intoxicated 18-year-old man to his residence in the first incident and indecently assaulted him three times, despite the victim's efforts to oppose.
Two years later, he attacked a young government employee at his residence after an event at the legislature.
He had argued the 2015 rape didn't happen, and that the other complainant was confused about their meeting from 2013.
The state's attorneys contended that significant resemblances in the testimonies of the victims, who were unacquainted with each other, proved they were being honest.
Court members debated for multiple days before delivering the guilty verdicts.
The political exit caused a special election in Kiama in last fall, which was won by the opposition party.
