Former Australian lawmaker sentenced to prison for rape and sexual abuse of two men
Former MP jailed for raping and sexually abusing two men
- Gareth Ward, a former New South Wales MP, has been sentenced to almost six years in prison for raping a young man and sexually assaulting a teenager.
- Ward received a sentence of five years and nine months, with a non-parole period of three years and nine months, handed down in the Parramatta district court.
- He was convicted on three counts of assault with an act of indecency against an 18-year-old in 2013 and one count of intercourse without consent against a 24-year-old in 2015.
- The judge, Kara Shead, praised the courage of the survivors and noted that Ward had "escaped justice for a decade" for his crimes.
- Ward, who is legally blind, received a reduced non-parole period due to his disability and absence of prior offences.