Gareth Ward, a member of the New South Wales parliament, has been convicted of sexual assault against two young men, raising serious concerns about conduct in political circles. A jury delivered its verdict after a nine-week trial, where it was revealed that Ward, 44, was found guilty of three counts of indecent assault and one count of rape.
The offenses occurred between 2013 and 2015, with the victims aged 18 and 24 at the time of the assaults, both of which took place at Ward's residence. Despite the initial allegations surfacing in 2021, Ward refused to resign from parliament, securing re-election as the representative for Kiama in 2023.
The trial highlighted Ward’s actions, with evidence indicating he had assaulted the 18-year-old on three occasions after inviting him to his home, and he was later found guilty of raping a political staffer after an event at parliament in 2015. In his defense, Ward dismissed the allegations, claiming no assault took place during the 2015 incident and contending that the victim of the 2013 attack was misremembering their encounter.
Crown prosecutor Monika Knowles argued that the strikingly similar narratives of the two men, who did not know each other, validated the truth behind their accounts. "Similar behaviour, similar setting, same man, same conclusion. This is not a coincidence," she asserted during the trial.
Ward is scheduled to return to court for sentencing later this year. The New South Wales government had previously weighed the possibility of expelling him from parliament, but opted against it following legal counsel suggesting such a move might compromise the integrity of the trial. With his long-standing career as a state MP since 2011 now overshadowed by these serious convictions, the case raises critical questions regarding accountability in positions of power within Australia.
