The trial of New South Wales independent MP Gareth Ward has begun at Sydney’s Downing Centre, with the Crown alleging he sexually assaulted two young men in separate incidents. Ward, the member for Kiama, has pleaded not guilty to five charges, including sexual intercourse without consent.
Crown prosecutor Monika Knowles told the jury on Tuesday that the first alleged victim was an 18-year-old man in February 2013. The court heard the teenager met Ward at a business event and later joined the Young Liberals. After a phone conversation, the complainant went to Ward’s house on the NSW south coast, where he drank alcohol and pretended to pass out. Knowles alleged Ward then touched the man’s buttocks and genitals, and later mounted him in bed before the complainant told him to stop.
The second alleged victim, a 24-year-old political staffer, claims Ward raped him in 2015 after an event at Parliament House. The court heard Ward invited the staffer to stay at his Potts Point home, where the MP allegedly tried to kiss him. Later, when the complainant was in bed, Ward allegedly returned and sexually assaulted him. The staffer reported the assault in 2021 after telling a friend.
Ward was elected as a Liberal MP in 2011 but was suspended from the party when the allegations emerged in 2022. He was re-elected as an independent in 2023. His defence lawyers are due to present their opening arguments on Wednesday.
