Australian MP Found Guilty of Raping, Sexually Assaulting Two Men in Separate Incidents
The prosecution emphasized that the accounts given by both victims—who were unknown to each other—were remarkably similar.
An Australian state lawmaker has been found guilty of raping one man and sexually assaulting another in two unrelated incidents that occurred two years apart.
Gareth Ward, a 44-year-old independent Member of Parliament representing Kiama in New South Wales, was convicted by a jury on Friday at the Downing Centre District Court.
According to The Independent, Ward was found guilty of three charges of indecent assault involving an 18-year-old male in 2013, and one charge of non-consensual sexual intercourse with a 24-year-old man in 2015.
Prosecutors pointed out that the two men, despite not knowing each other, gave testimony that was highly consistent. However, the defence argued that the allegations were untrue.
“Same man, same kind of behaviour, same environment, same outcome. This isn’t by chance,” said Crown Prosecutor Monika Knowles, according to the report.
The 2013 incident reportedly occurred when Ward allegedly invited a heavily intoxicated teenager to his South Coast residence, where the victim said he was assaulted three times in one night, even after clearly objecting.
Two years later, a similar situation unfolded when another intoxicated man—this time a staffer—was raped following an event held at the New South Wales Parliament House.
Ward denied the 2015 assault ever took place and claimed the second complainant may have confused it with their encounter in 2013.
He has been granted conditional bail and permitted to stay at either of his two listed residences.
As per the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, prosecutors plan to file a motion seeking his custody at a hearing scheduled for next Wednesday.
Ward first entered the state legislature as a Liberal Party member in 2011 and was appointed a minister after the 2019 state election. He stepped down from both the party and his ministerial position in 2021 after disclosing he was under police investigation. Despite this, he ran as an independent and was re-elected in 2023, narrowly defeating Labor candidate Katelin McInerney.
