Gareth Ward's victim tells sentencing hearing of abuse trauma
A victim of Gareth Ward has described years of trauma after a 2013 sexual assault. (AAP Image: Dean Lewins)
In short:
A victim of former NSW MP Gareth Ward has told the politician's sentencing hearing the trauma and lasting impact of the sexual assault.
The court heard how the assaults and their aftermath profoundly affected the victim's mental health, relationships, and life choices.
What's next?
Ward will be sentenced at the end of October.
One of the victims of convicted sex offender Gareth Ward has told the former NSW MP's sentencing hearing the abuse left him traumatised and suicidal.
Ward was convicted in July of raping a 25-year-old man in 2015 and indecently assaulting a 19-year-old man in 2013.
The younger victim's impact statement was read aloud by a member of a victim support service on Friday in Paramatta District Court.
Both victims followed proceedings via audio-visual link, as did Ward, who appeared on screen from a Hunter correctional facility.
Ward, wearing a black V-neck top with a cardigan draped over his shoulders, sat quietly and alone, writing in an exercise book and a large legal notebook.
"Since Gareth Ward assaulted me in 2013, I've experienced severe mental health issues," the victim's statement began.
"I have suffered from major depression, including periods of active suicidal ideation that required urgent crisis support.
"I believe the assault, and the way I felt I had to compartmentalise it, caused me significant psychological trauma."
Haunted and fearful
He told the court he had been haunted by recurring dreams and flashbacks of the assault at the MP's home.
"At times I've been haunted by the fact that I went to sleep next to Gareth after the assault, and by the troubling thought that he might have touched me again while I was asleep.
"I'm not suggesting that this did happen … but it has left me plagued by disturbing thoughts and doubts that I cannot resolve with certainty."
He said the trauma affected every part of his life.
"This has been a source of deep, ongoing distress,"he said.
The man said he turned to alcohol and drugs to cope with the trauma.
"These struggles lasted several years and caused further disruption and instability in my life," he said.
The court heard the drawn-out investigation and trial also took a heavy toll.
"I developed panic attacks and a cardiac arrhythmia issue, along with a constant state of hyper-vigilance and anxiety," he said.
"I was fearful that Gareth would get to me before I had the chance to give evidence, and I felt the need to watch my back almost everywhere I went."
He said seven weeks before the trial began, he received a voicemail containing the sound of two gunshots while walking with his son.
"Already living in fear, this incident tipped me into acute anxiety about my physical safety and also the safety of my family, and it's been extremely difficult to move on from that," he said.
The sentencing hearing has been held in Parramatta District Court. (ABC News: Abubakr Sajid)
Felt targeted in media
Ward's prominent public profile and regular rejection of the crimes made the man feel "directly targeted" and fearful of "consequences".
He said the offence and everything that had followed had "profoundly changed" his life.
"It has caused me lasting psychological harm, damaged my sense of safety, strained my friendships and relationships, and was a contributing factor in a state of mind that led to years of substance abuse and alcoholism,"he said.
He said he was seven years sober but the lengthy proceedings had been exhausting and overwhelming.
The second victim impact statement was submitted in writing.
In it, the man said he "did not deserve what happened to me that night or the consequences that followed".
"Since the verdict, I have felt overwhelmed. Most days, when I reflect on that night and everything that has followed, I am brought to tears."
He said he was raped by a politician, "someone entrusted with protecting our most vulnerable".
"The rape and everything that followed has changed my life in ways I never imagined possible. It has taken from me my dreams, my trust in others, my sense of intimacy, my friendships and, at times, even my will to go on."
Crown says persistence a factor
The Crown told the court Ward's offending carried "spontaneous and opportunistic features" but also displayed persistence, moving from one indecent act to another after earlier advances were rejected.
"It is alarming that the offender needed more than actions and verbal indications to understand there was no consent," the Crown submitted.
The Crown said persistence was relevant for assessing rehabilitation.
The Crown also argued Ward's public record as a local MP was not evidence of good character, but part of his paid employment.
Defence barrister David Campbell told the court Ward continued to dispute the events and had already filed a notice of intention to dispute the verdict.
Mr Campbell said that appeal limited the scope of submissions that could be made at sentencing.
He said any delay in the matter reaching court should not be attributed to Ward.
He said Ward, now in his early 40s, had no prior convictions and had contributed extensively to the community.
He said Ward's lifelong disability, albinism causing legal blindness, was likely to make incarceration difficult.
He said an "enormous level" of media attention, some of which he described as "a gratuitous slur", the fall from public office, and the loss of his legal career had already inflicted severe personal consequences.
He said the offending was at the low end of seriousness.
"The mere fact of the downfall and the clanging of the door rather than the length of the term is the most significant personal deterrence," Mr Campbell said.
The defence also provided the court with character references supporting Ward.
The documents included a letter from former South Coast MP Shelley Hancock, who said "the offences he has been accused of are emphatically and completely out of character".
She said she could "absolutely affirm that Gareth would not be a danger to anyone in the community at all".
Judge Kara Shead will deliver her sentencing on October 29.