🔗 Share this article Previous Down Under Public Figure Sentenced for Over Half a Decade for Sexual Offenses The convicted individual was jailed for 69 months for criminal acts of two men An ex- Australian politician found guilty of attacking two young men he met through work received a sentence to 69 months in detention. Case Details The former official, forty-four, has been in prison since mid-year after judicial panel determined his guilt of raping one man and sexually abusing another, in multiple events in 2013 and 2015. The defendant acted for the seaside community of the regional area in the NSW legislature from 2011. He stepped down as a government cabinet member when allegations surfaced in recent years but declined to leave parliament and returned to office in 2023. Judgment Information The presiding officer the judicial figure considered his visual impairment of sight disability in her sentence and determined "no other penalty other than imprisonment is appropriate". Ward, who was present via video-link at Parramatta District Court, will complete at no less than three years and nine months in prison before he can request parole. Justice Shead declared the court needs to "send a stern message to similar individuals that sexual offendings like these will be subject to significant consequences". Further Details The judge added the convicted man had "escaped justice for a decade and enjoyed a life without a treatment or punishment for his crimes during those years". Following the verdict, Ward launched a failed court challenge to remain in parliament and stepped down shortly before the members could remove him. Defense attorneys has stated earlier he plans to challenge the guilty verdict. Case Facts His nine-week trial in the judicial venue heard that he asked a drunk young adult to his home in 2013 and attacked him repeatedly, despite the victim's efforts to resist. In 2015, he raped a mid-twenties office worker at his home after a function at government offices. He had maintained the 2015 rape was fabricated, and that the additional accuser was confused about their meeting from 2013. But the prosecution maintained that striking similarities in the statements of the two men, who did not know one another, proved they were accurate in their accounts. Court members considered for 72 hours before announcing the convictions. Ward's resignation led to a replacement vote in the district in September, which was won by the Labor candidate.