Gareth Ward in custody after being refused bail for sexual assault convictions

Convicted rapist and state MP Gareth Ward has been taken into custody after he was found guilty last week of sexually assaulting two young men.

The 44-year-old was convicted on Friday of indecently assaulting an 18-year-old man at his Shoalhaven home on the South Coast in 2013 three times, as well as sexual intercourse without consent against a 24-year-old political staffer at his Potts Point apartment in 2015.

The Kiama MP met both men through his position in politics.

Ward remained on bail following the verdict. But on Wednesday afternoon the prosecution made a successful detention application at Sydney’s Darlinghurst District Court, with Judge Kara Shead ruling that the MP should be refused bail and taken into custody until he is sentenced at a later date.

Ward sat emotionless as he heard the decision. His lawyer handed him a letter from his optometrist and then two court officers escorted him from the dock into custody.

Ward’s barrister, Ed Anderson, SC, conceded his client would be sentenced to full-time custody for his crimes. But he opposed the detention application because Ward would be “vulnerable” if taken in custody as he prepared for his sentencing.

He based this argument on a “very unusual combination of circumstances”, saying Ward’s public profile as a serving member of parliament would make him a target for “physical violence or otherwise”, and his “not insignificant disabilities”, referring to Ward’s visual impairment.

Ultimately, Shead decided Ward should be sent into custody ahead of his sentencing and as he did not face exceptional circumstances that should allow him to remain on bail.

More to come.