Gareth Ward, the New South Wales independent MP for Kiama, has been convicted of sexually assaulting two men in two separate incidents that happened in 2013 and 2015. The verdict was handed down by a jury at Sydney's Downing Centre District Court on Friday.
Ward, 44, was found guilty on four charges three of assault with an act of indecency against an 18-year-old man in 2013, and one of intercourse without consent against a 24-year-old man in 2015. The former Liberal minister had denied all the charges and pleaded not guilty during the trial.
The court was informed that the initial incident occurred in February 2013, where Ward hosted a drunk teenager at his home along the South Coast. The teen claimed he was assaulted several times in one night even after offering resistance to Ward's advances. Two years after that, the MP was said to have raped a 24-year-old staffer after attending a function at Parliament House in New South Wales.
Even if the two victims were not known to each other, prosecutors highlighted glaring similarities in what they had described. Crown prosecutor Monika Knowles stated, "Similar behaviour, similar setting, same man, same conclusion. This is not a coincidence."
Ward rejected the 2015 rape charge and asserted that the second complainant had misinterpreted their meeting. His defence maintained that both charges were fabricated. Nevertheless, the jury delivered the guilty verdicts across the four charges.
Ward was granted conditional bail and is currently staying in one of his two homes. The prosecution has an application for detention listed for next Wednesday, as reported by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Sentencing will be at a later date.
Ward was initially elected as a Liberal MP in 2011 and later as minister of families, communities and disability services in 2019. He resigned from both ministerial office and the Liberal Party in 2021 after announcing he was being investigated by police. He was re-elected in 2023 as an independent.
NSW opposition leader Mark Speakman said he respected the verdict of the jury and commended the bravery of victims. "There is no justification for criminality the jury has found occurred beyond reasonable doubt. It was an absolute abuse of power," he said.
