Ex- Down Under Lawmaker Jailed for Over 60 Months for Criminal Acts
A former lawmaker found guilty of assaulting two individuals he met through work was given to nearly six years in jail.
Legal Proceedings
Gareth Ward, mid-forties, was in custody since mid-year after a jury found him guilty of attacking a victim and attacking another, in multiple events in 2013 then 2015.
The defendant acted for the oceanfront municipality of the district in the New South Wales parliament from over a decade ago. He resigned as a political party official when allegations surfaced in 2021 but refused to quit the legislature and returned to office in last year.
Sentencing Details
Justice the judicial figure evaluated the defendant's condition of legal blindness in her sentence and determined "no other penalty except for imprisonment is appropriate".
The convicted individual, who appeared via remote connection at Parramatta District Court, will undergo at least nearly four years in custody before he can seek early release.
The court official stated the court needs to "issue a clear statement to similar individuals that criminal acts of this nature will be subject to significant consequences".
Additional Information
She also said the convicted man had "avoided punishment for ten years and lived freely absent a treatment or punishment for his actions during that time".
Post-trial, Ward launched a rejected legal bid to stay in government and resigned moments before the members could oust him.
Representatives has previously said he plans to contest the guilty verdict.
Trial Evidence
The defendant's lengthy proceedings in the judicial venue learned that he asked a intoxicated young adult to his residence in the first incident and attacked him on multiple occasions, despite resistance attempts to oppose.
In 2015, he attacked a 24-year-old office worker at his residence after a function at the legislature.
He had maintained the later assault never occurred, and that the first victim was misremembering their encounter from 2013.
But the prosecution contended that significant resemblances in the accounts of the individuals, who were unacquainted with the other, demonstrated they were accurate in their accounts.
A jury considered for multiple days before returning the convictions.
His departure led to a replacement vote in Kiama in last fall, which was claimed by the challenger.
