🔗 Share this article Former Australian Lawmaker Imprisoned for More Than 60 Months for Sexual Offenses The convicted individual has become imprisoned for 69 months for sexual assaults of two men A former lawmaker sentenced of attacking two young men encountered via his position has been sentenced to 69 months in prison. Case Details The defendant, 44, has been in jail since mid-year after judicial panel determined his guilt of attacking a victim and attacking a second person, in different occasions in 2013 and 2015. The defendant served the seaside community of the district in the NSW legislature from 2011. He resigned as a Liberal Party minister when the claims surfaced in 2021 but resisted resigning from his seat and returned to office in 2023. Judgment Information Justice Kara Shead took into account Ward's disability of sight disability in the ruling and found "no other penalty other than incarceration would be suitable". The defendant, who appeared via video-link at the courthouse, will complete at minimum 45 months in prison before he can seek early release. The court official stated the legal system needs to "issue a clear statement to similar individuals that criminal acts of this nature will be faced with salutary penalties". Additional Information The judge added the defendant had "evaded consequences for a decade and experienced freedom absent a rehabilitation program or penalty for his actions during that period". Post-trial, the individual initiated a unsuccessful legal bid to remain in parliament and resigned moments before the legislature could expel him. Representatives has previously said he aims to challenge the guilty verdict. Incident Details His nine-week trial in the NSW District Court heard that he brought a intoxicated teenager to his property in 2013 and indecently assaulted him on multiple occasions, despite resistance attempts to oppose. In 2015, he attacked a 24-year-old government employee at his home after a function at parliament. The defendant had maintained the second incident didn't happen, and that the first victim was confused about their interaction from 2013. The state's attorneys argued that significant resemblances in the accounts of the individuals, who had no connection to one another, proved they were being honest. A jury deliberated for 72 hours before delivering the guilty verdicts. His departure caused a special election in his constituency in last fall, which was secured by the opposition party.