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 44-year-old appeared via video link from Cessnock prison after resigning as the independent member for Kiama in early August, just hours before he was to be expelled from parliament.
Judge Kara Shead sentenced Ward on Friday in the Parramatta district court, setting a non-parole period of three years and nine months. The judge took into account his lack of prior criminal record and noted that his blindness would make his time in custody more onerous. The sentence was backdated to late July 2025, meaning he could be released in April 2029.
Shead described Ward's actions as “callous and predatory” and said his moral culpability was high. In one case, he raped a 24-year-old political staffer who had voiced non-consent; the judge noted that Ward knew the victim was in discomfort yet continued until he achieved sexual satisfaction. The victim’s statement said the assault shattered his dreams of entering politics, as he felt Liberal colleagues had sided with Ward.
The court also heard from an 18-year-old whom Ward indecently assaulted three times in one night in 2013. The teenager suffered severe mental health and substance abuse issues, and lived in fear after Ward publicly denied wrongdoing. Shead found a significant disparity in maturity, power and influence between the teen and the politically savvy MP.
Ward was found guilty in July of three counts of indecent assault and one of sexual intercourse without consent. He is appealing against the convictions. His lawyers had argued for a lesser sentence due to his “enormous fall from grace”, but the judge ruled that loss of his political career was an inevitable consequence of his offending.
