
In a significant legal ruling, New South Wales (NSW) politician Gareth Ward has been convicted for sexually assaulting two young men. The jury found him guilty on multiple counts, which includes three counts of indecent assault and one count of rape.
The victims, aged 18 and 24 at the time of the assaults, alleged that the incidents occurred at Ward’s residence after they met him through political engagements between 2013 and 2015. Following the emergence of these allegations in 2021, Ward stepped down from his ministerial role and the Liberal Party, yet he remained a member of parliament and was re-elected as the representative for Kiama in 2023.
After a protracted legal process that involved nine weeks of testimony, the jury reached a decision after three days of deliberation. Testimonies revealed that in 2013, Ward had taken advantage of an intoxicated 18-year-old, committing multiple assaults despite resistance. Subsequently, in 2015, he was found to have raped a political staffer post an event at parliament.
Throughout the trial, Ward contested the validity of the rape charge, claiming the encounter from 2013 had been misremembered. However, crown prosecutor Monika Knowles emphasized the unsettling parallels in the victims’ accounts, asserting, “This is not a coincidence.”
Ward is expected to return to court for sentencing later this year, with discussions of his potential expulsion from parliament previously stalled by legal concerns.
Source: www.bbc.com
Warning: Attempt to read property "roles" on bool in /var/www/wordpress/wp-content/themes/morenews/inc/template-functions.php on line 920