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An ex- lawmaker found guilty of attacking two individuals he met through work received a sentence to nearly six years in prison.

Legal Proceedings

Gareth Ward, mid-forties, was in custody since last summer after the court convicted him of attacking one man and indecently assaulting a second person, in multiple events in 2013 and 2015.

The defendant acted for the seaside community of the regional area in the NSW legislature from the year 2011. He left his position as a Liberal Party official when accusations surfaced in 2021 but declined to leave parliament and won again in 2023.

Court Ruling

The presiding officer the court official evaluated the defendant's condition of legal blindness in the judgment and concluded "no different consequence except for imprisonment would be suitable".

Ward, who was present via remote connection at the courthouse, will serve at no less than nearly four years in custody before he can apply for conditional freedom.

Justice Shead declared the court needs to "send a stern message to like-minded offenders that illegal behaviors like these will be met with significant consequences".

Case Background

She also said the convicted man had "escaped justice for multiple years and lived freely free from a treatment or punishment for the offenses during those years".

After his conviction, the individual attempted a unsuccessful appeal attempt to stay in his position and stepped down moments before the congress could oust him.

Representatives has previously said he aims to contest the conviction.

Case Facts

Ward's nine-week trial in the NSW District Court heard that he invited a drunk teenager to his home in 2013 and attacked him three times, despite resistance attempts to fight back.

Two years later, he sexually assaulted a mid-twenties government employee at his residence after a gathering at the legislature.

Ward had claimed the later assault never occurred, and that the additional accuser was misremembering their meeting from the first incident.

However, prosecutors maintained that significant resemblances in the statements of the victims, who had no connection to each other, demonstrated they were accurate in their accounts.

The panel deliberated for 72 hours before delivering the convictions.

Ward's resignation prompted a by-election in his constituency in last fall, which was won by the opposition party.