New South Wales: A New South Wales (NSW) politician, Gareth Ward has been found guilty of sexually assaulting two young men, in a landmark case that has shocked Australia’s political community.
Gareth Ward, an independent MP and former minister, was found guilty by a jury of one count of rape and three counts of indecent assault. The verdict followed a nine-week trial in the NSW District Court and three days of jury deliberations.
The incidents took place between 2013 and 2015, with both victims—aged 18 and 24 at the time, saying they were assaulted at Ward’s home after meeting him through political networks. In 2013, Ward invited a heavily intoxicated 18-year-old to his home and indecently assaulted him three times, despite the young man’s clear resistance. Two years later, he raped a 24-year-old political staffer after a parliamentary event.
Ward, 44, denied all charges, claiming the 2015 encounter never happened and that the 2013 complainant had misremembered their meeting. However, the jury accepted the prosecution’s argument that the similarities in the victims’ accounts, who did not know each other, indicated credibility.
Crown Prosecutor Monika Knowles remarked that, “Similar behaviour, similar setting, same man, same conclusion. This is not a coincidence.”
Ward stepped down from the NSW government and resigned from the Liberal Party in 2021 when the allegations became public, but refused to resign from parliament. He was re-elected as the independent member for Kiama in 2023.
Ward is expected to be sentenced later this year. The NSW government had previously considered expelling him from parliament, but was advised against doing so to avoid prejudicing legal proceedings.
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