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The court heard the pair had been drinking when the young man played a prank on the MP, pretending to be passed out on the grass as Ward went inside momentarily. When Ward returned, he slid his hands into the man’s shorts and touched his buttocks and genitals.
After freezing in shock, the man pretended he had been asleep and unaware of the assault. He said he wanted to go to bed and was taken to Ward’s bedroom, being told it was “unsafe” to sleep alone.
There, the jury heard, Ward assaulted him again while giving him a lower back massage, telling the man to “relax” and continuing despite several requests to stop.
The man’s victim impact statement outlined his drug and alcohol problems, which stemmed from the assault and were an attempt to cope with the trauma. Although he was seven years’ sober, he said those “lost years” created enormous harm and instability to him and his loved ones.
“The police investigation and the court process also had a serious impact on my health,” it read.
“Having it drag on for years meant living in constant anxiety, while also trying to carry on with life as a husband and father.”
Seeing Ward remain a public figure and denying the assault in the media was “devastating” as he felt “directly targeted and [it] reinforced my fear that there will be consequences for me having come forward”.
The man’s statement ended by saying the “exhausting and overwhelming” experience forced him to become resilient and “withstand a long and difficult storm”.
Ward’s red book and earlier resignation from parliament
As Ward faced court via audiovisual link from Hunter Correctional Centre in prison greens, he placed a pile of files on the ground. He put down a bottle of water before picking up a red book, which he flipped through and wrote notes in.
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He looked intently at the camera as the impact statement was read, and while the court briefly adjourned, spent more than 10 minutes on the phone.
Ward resigned from NSW parliament last month, losing his taxpayer-funded salary and triggering a byelection in Kiama.
Speaker Greg Piper received his letter of resignation just over an hour before parliament was set to vote on his expulsion. Ward had tried to block the vote, taking his fight to the Supreme Court, where he was granted an interim injunction barring the lower house from voting. The NSW Court of Appeal ultimately rejected his attempt.
Opposing the revocation of Ward’s bail at an earlier court appearance, his barrister Ed Anderson said his client’s vision impairment meant he needed “particular technology and assistance”, not provided in custody, to read the appropriate material about his case and communicate with his lawyers.
Anderson also expressed safety concerns for Ward going into custody, citing risks of “physical violence or otherwise” due to his high profile.
In revoking Ward’s bail, Shead agreed with the prosecution’s submission that a doctor’s report showed Ward could still “function at a very high level” when wearing glasses and that corrective services had adequate support for “people who are totally blind” as well as inmates needing protection.
Shead ordered corrective services to provide Ward an iPad or laptop with “reasonable speed”, as “large a screen as possible” and a PDF reader.
Potts Point sexual assault
The second victim had met Ward a few times in passing when the former MP invited the 24-year-old back to his Potts Point apartment after a public event at Parliament House in September 2015, the court heard.
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The staffer said he accepted the offer as he’d been drinking and would have difficulty getting home.
At Ward’s apartment in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, the man rebuffed his first attempt to kiss him but briefly allowed a second, before saying he wanted to sleep.
The jury heard Ward showed him to what was seemingly a spare room and joined him in bed, where he digitally penetrated him while masturbating, despite being told to stop.
The Potts Point victim chose not to provide a victim impact statement, the court heard.
Allegations against Ward were first reported to police in 2020.
The sentence hearing before Shead continues.
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