ð Share this article Ex- Australian Politician Sentenced for Above 60 Months for Criminal Acts Gareth Ward was jailed for 69 months for sexual assaults of two individuals An ex- public official sentenced of assaulting two victims connected through his position has been sentenced to five years and nine months in jail. Legal Proceedings The defendant, mid-forties, has been in prison since mid-year after judicial panel found him guilty of raping one man and indecently assaulting another, in different occasions in 2013 and 2015. The defendant acted for the oceanfront municipality of Kiama in the NSW parliament from 2011. He resigned as a Liberal Party official when allegations surfaced in 2021 but refused to quit his seat and returned to office in last year. Judgment Information Judge the judicial figure evaluated Ward's disability of legal blindness in the judgment and concluded "no different consequence besides imprisonment would be suitable". The convicted individual, who was present via remote connection at the courthouse, will serve at minimum three years and nine months in custody before he can apply for early release. The judge declared the court needs to "deliver a strong warning to similar individuals that criminal acts of this nature will be subject to significant consequences". Further Details Additionally stated the convicted man had "avoided punishment for ten years and lived freely absent a programme or punishment for the offenses during that time". After his conviction, Ward initiated a rejected legal bid to stay in his position and left office just prior to the legislature could expel him. Defense attorneys has indicated before he intends to appeal the ruling. Trial Evidence Ward's lengthy proceedings in the state court heard that he brought a intoxicated young adult to his home in the first incident and indecently assaulted him repeatedly, despite resistance attempts to resist. Two years later, he sexually assaulted a young government employee at his property after a gathering at government offices. Ward had maintained the later assault never occurred, and that the other complainant was inaccurate regarding their interaction from the first incident. But the prosecution argued that notable parallels in the statements of the victims, who did not know one another, proved they were telling the truth. Court members considered for three days before delivering the guilty verdicts. His departure led to a by-election in his constituency in September, which was secured by the opposition party.