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Disgraced MP Gareth Ward staring down prison stint after scandal-plagued political career

Convicted NSW MP Gareth Ward has spent what could be one of his last days of freedom walking to Kings Cross police station where he is required to check in daily as part of his bail conditions.

NSW MP Gareth Ward could be facing jail after being found guilty of sexually abusing two men. The court verdict caps off a scandal-plagued career that included a “special massage” and a bizarre naked romp.
NSW MP Gareth Ward could be facing jail after being found guilty of sexually abusing two men. The court verdict caps off a scandal-plagued career that included a “special massage” and a bizarre naked romp.

Convicted NSW MP Gareth Ward has spent what could be one of his last days of freedom walking to Kings Cross police station where he is required to check in daily as part of his bail conditions.

Holding a blue umbrella and wearing his trademark hat, the independent MP and former Liberal minister left his home in Potts Point shortly after 9am before slipping through an arcade on his way to the police.

Ward was on Friday found guilty by a jury of four offences relating to the sexual abuse of two young men.

He was granted bail release to return home ahead of a hearing on Wednesday where the Crown will seek to have the politician taken into custody ahead of his sentence.

As part of his bail conditions, Ward is required to report to police daily between 8am and 8pm at either Kings cross or Nowra police stations.

The Kiama MP smiled at the media as he walked to the station, declaring: “That’s alright, you’ve got a job to do”.

Gareth Ward leaving his apartment in Potts Point apartment on Saturday following his conviction.. Picture: Richard Dobson
Gareth Ward leaving his apartment in Potts Point apartment on Saturday following his conviction.. Picture: Richard Dobson

As part of his bail conditions, Ward is allowed to live at either his Potts Point residence or his property on the South Coast.

Ward survived a series of scandals, from a “special massage” in New York to a bizarre naked romp, until a jury ruled the former Liberal minister had sexually abused two men.

The independent MP could now be facing his final weekend of freedom with prosecutors to apply next week to have him locked up.

The Kiama MP was found guilty of sexually abusing two young men, including sexual intercourse without consent and indecent assault.

A shocked Ward – who has maintained his innocence throughout – put his head in his hands after the verdict was handed down.

The Kiama MP smiled at the media as he walked to the station, declaring: “That’s alright, you’ve got a job to do”.
The Kiama MP smiled at the media as he walked to the station, declaring: “That’s alright, you’ve got a job to do”.

Ward was charged in March 2022 with three counts of assault with act of indecency and intercourse without consent.

Ward has remained in state parliament despite the charges, defiantly recontesting his seat of Kiama at the March 2023 state election after quitting the Liberal Party.

Ward will have to wait until Wednesday to learn if he will be jailed immediately, with prosecuting lawyers telling Judge Kara Shead SC after the verdict was delivered that they would be applying to have his bail revoked.

If they are successful, Ward will be taken into custody until he returns to court for sentencing.

The jury found that Ward indecently assaulted a man, who had just turned 18, at his home on the South Coast in February 2013. The MP also indecently assaulted another man – who was 24 at the time – at his Potts Point apartment in September 2015.

Crown prosecutor Monika Knowles in her closing submissions told the jury it is “not a coincidence” two men came forward with similar allegations.

The 2015 victim told the court he attended an event on the night of the assault at NSW Parliament House before heading back to Ward’s apartment, where the politician tried to kiss the man before showing him to a room.

In the room, Ward stripped down to his boxers before putting an arm over the man and his hands on the man’s buttocks before he was told to stop. It was alleged Ward, without warning, digitally penetrated the man before masturbating.

The 2013 victim was invited to Ward’s Meroo Meadow home. The teen and Ward drank together at his home before the teen went outside and laid on the grass, pretending he had passed out as a “prank”, the court was told.

The man alleged Ward put his hand down the man’s pants and touched his buttocks. The man told the court he “froze” and remembered Ward’s “heavy breathing” as the politician moved his hand to the then teenager’s genitalia. The man said he then told Ward that he wanted to go to sleep and the pair went back inside. Ward directed the man towards his bedroom, where the man laid face down on the bed, when Ward “mounted” him, sat on his buttocks and started to rub his back, saying he had “done a course in massage”.

Years later the man reported the matter to police after he learned Ward had been appointed as minister for families, communities and disability services, a role he went on to hold for two years. The man said Ward holding this role was “like a vampire running the blood bank”.

CCTV from the Intercontinental Hotel in New York in August 2017 where MP Gareth Ward says two unidentified men tried to extort him after a massage.
CCTV from the Intercontinental Hotel in New York in August 2017 where MP Gareth Ward says two unidentified men tried to extort him after a massage.

Ward was on Shoalhaven Council before becoming the Liberal member for Kiama in 2011.

In 2017 Ward was caught up in a New York massage scam at the Intercontinental Hotel near Broadway.

When the two men arrived, they began filming Ward and threatening to tell authorities they were minors if he didn’t hand over a sum of cash.

Ward insists he booked a non-sexual massage. He reported it to the hotel’s front desk, who contacted police.

In 2020, when a minister, Ward was escorted into his unit by police after they were called to reports of a naked man trying to get into a unit that was not his own.

They were called again later that evening when Ward was reported to be walking in the common area in his underpants. He was again escorted into his apartment.

In a statement, Ward said he had been disoriented following a procedure earlier in the day where he was placed under general anaesthesia.

In 2024 Ward was again found in a state of undress, this time at parliament when he arrived just after 4am on a Sunday morning wearing “T-shirt, underwear, (and) socks,” with a gash on his head and smelling of alcohol, according to a secret security report.

Ward said he had been woken by a noise and was locked out of his apartment when he went to investigate and felt it was prudent to retrieve his spare key from his office. He denied being under the influence of alcohol.

Originally published as Disgraced MP Gareth Ward staring down prison stint after scandal-plagued political career

Original URL: https://www.thechronicle.com.au/news/nsw/disgraced-mp-gareth-ward-staring-down-prison-stint-after-scandalplagued-political-career/news-story/098ac08d48ee77cd0ee2be442636cf7c