Gareth Ward, NSW Parliamentary Representative, Convicted for Raping one Man and Indecently Assaulting Another

Sydney (The Uttam Hindu): A shameful news has emerged from Australian politics, where a New South Wales MP has been convicted of raping a young man and sexually assaulting another in two separate incidents. 44-year-old MP Gareth Ward was found guilty of these serious charges by a jury at Sydney's Downing Centre District Court on Friday.

According to 'The Independent' report, the court found that Ward had victimised two different young men in a span of two years. The first case is from 2013, in which the MP was convicted of three counts of indecent assault against an 18-year-old youth. The second case is from 2015, in which he was found guilty of having non-consensual sex (rape) with a 24-year-old youth.

The prosecution argued in court that the statements of both victims were surprisingly similar, which could not be just a coincidence. Crown prosecutor Monica Knowles said, "Same behavior, same circumstances, same person, same conclusion. This is not a coincidence."

According to the report, in February 2013, Ward allegedly invited an intoxicated teenager to his South Coast home and attacked him three times in one night despite the victim's protests. Two years later in 2015, he raped a 24-year-old staffer after an event at the NSW Parliament House while intoxicated.

However, the defence called these allegations fabricated. Ward denied the 2015 rape incident and argued that the second complainant was misremembering the 2013 incident. The MP is currently released on conditional bail after being convicted by a jury.

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