Former New South Wales MP Gareth Ward has been sentenced to five years and nine months in prison for sexually abusing two young men. The sentence was handed down by Judge Kara Shead in the Parramatta District Court on Friday, with a non-parole period of three years and nine months.
Ward, 44, appeared via video link from Cessnock prison, having resigned as the independent MP for Kiama in early August just hours before he was to be expelled from parliament. He was found guilty in July of three counts of indecent assault and one of sexual intercourse without consent, relating to incidents in 2013 and 2015. He is appealing against the convictions.
Judge Shead noted Ward's lack of prior criminal record and his legal blindness, which would make his time in custody more onerous, leading to a more lenient non-parole period. The sentence was backdated to late July 2025, meaning Ward could be released in April 2029. Shead described Ward's actions as 'callous and predatory' and said his moral culpability was high.
In victim impact statements read to the court, one victim said the assault had shattered his dreams of entering politics, as he felt Liberal colleagues had sided with Ward. Another victim, who was 18 at the time of the assault, said he suffered from severe mental health issues and alcoholism as a result, and lived in fear after Ward publicly asserted he had done nothing wrong.
The crown argued against a lesser sentence for Ward's 'fall from grace', and Shead agreed that the loss of his political career was an inevitable consequence of his offending. Ward's lawyers had sought a reduced sentence based on his fall from grace, but the judge rejected this argument.
