🔗 Share this article Previous Down Under Lawmaker Sentenced for More Than Five Years for Criminal Acts The former politician has become sentenced for nearly six years for criminal acts of two individuals An ex- Australian politician convicted of sexually abusing two individuals connected through work received a sentence to 69 months in jail. Trial Information The former official, forty-four, was in jail since mid-year after a jury convicted him of sexually assaulting one man and attacking another, in multiple events in 2013 then 2015. The defendant served the oceanfront municipality of the district in the state parliament from 2011. He stepped down as a government cabinet member when accusations surfaced in 2021 but refused to quit the legislature and won again in 2023. Court Ruling Judge the judicial figure considered his visual impairment of sight disability in her sentence and concluded "no other penalty other than imprisonment would be suitable". The convicted individual, who participated via digital means at the judicial venue, will serve at no less than 45 months in prison before he can request parole. The judge said the judicial system needs to "deliver a strong warning to like-minded offenders that illegal behaviors like these will be faced with serious punishments". Further Details Additionally stated the convicted man had "evaded consequences for multiple years and lived freely free from a rehabilitation program or penalty for his actions during that time". After his conviction, the politician attempted a rejected appeal attempt to continue in government and stepped down moments before the legislature could oust him. Defense attorneys has previously said he aims to appeal the guilty verdict. Incident Details The defendant's nine-week trial in the NSW District Court was told that he brought a inebriated 18-year-old man to his home in the first incident and indecently assaulted him three times, despite the victim's efforts to resist. Two years later, he raped a mid-twenties political staffer at his home after a gathering at government offices. Ward had claimed the second incident was fabricated, and that the first victim was inaccurate regarding their encounter from 2013. The state's attorneys contended that striking similarities in the testimonies of the two men, who had no connection to the other, demonstrated they were accurate in their accounts. A jury considered for 72 hours before returning the guilty verdicts. His departure caused a special election in his constituency in last fall, which was won by the opposition party.