🔗 Share this article Previous Down Under Lawmaker Sentenced for Over Five Years for Criminal Acts The former politician has become imprisoned for nearly six years for the sexual abuse of two victims A former public official sentenced of assaulting two individuals he met through work was given to five years and nine months in detention. Trial Information Gareth Ward, mid-forties, was in jail since mid-year after a jury determined his guilt of attacking a victim and indecently assaulting another individual, in different occasions in 2013 then 2015. The politician represented the oceanfront municipality of the regional area in the NSW government from 2011. He stepped down as a political party minister when allegations surfaced in 2021 but declined to leave the legislature and was re-elected in 2023. Judgment Information The presiding officer the judicial figure considered Ward's disability of sight disability in the judgment and determined "no alternative punishment other than incarceration is appropriate". Ward, who was present via digital means at the judicial venue, will undergo at minimum 45 months in detention before he can request early release. The judge said the judicial system needs to "send a stern message to similar individuals that criminal acts like these will be subject to serious punishments". Additional Information The judge added Ward had "avoided punishment for multiple years and lived freely free from a treatment or penalty for his actions during those years". Following the verdict, Ward attempted a failed legal bid to continue in government and left office moments before the congress could remove him. Representatives has stated earlier he intends to contest the conviction. Trial Evidence Ward's lengthy proceedings in the NSW District Court was told that he brought a drunk teenager to his residence in 2013 and indecently assaulted him on multiple occasions, despite his attempts to oppose. In 2015, he attacked a 24-year-old office worker at his property after a function at parliament. The defendant had claimed the later assault was fabricated, and that the other complainant was confused about their meeting from 2013. However, prosecutors maintained that striking similarities in the statements of the two men, who did not know one another, showed they were accurate in their accounts. Court members considered for three days before announcing the guilty verdicts. His departure caused a by-election in his constituency in autumn, which was secured by the challenger.