‘Respect for you': Email read in court in Kiama MP Gareth Ward's sexual assault trial

News.com.au

2 days ago

A parliamentary associate who alleges Kiama MP Gareth Ward sexually abused him has told a court that he still respects him 'immensely', describing him as an 'incredible local member'.
Mr Ward, 43, is facing a four-week criminal trial in the Downing Centre District Court on allegations he sexually abused two young men.
The NSW independent MP was charged in March 2022 with three counts of assault with act of indecency, an alternative charge of common assault against an 18-year-old man at Meroo Meadow in 2013, and intercourse without consent against a 24-year-old man in Potts Point in 2015.
Mr Ward arrived in court on Tuesday for the second week of the criminal trial before Judge Kara Shead SC.
The complainant who was 24 at the time of the alleged assault took the stand to give evidence for a fourth day.
During a cross-examination by defence solicitor David Campbell SC, an email the man sent to Mr Ward in March 2019 was read to the court.
In the email the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, wrote to Mr Ward to express his interest in the hope of securing a parliamentaryrole before flourishing the state independent MP with compliments.
'You know just how committed I am to this … how loyal I am to my boss, and how hard I work … and that I would give it all to make you look good,' the man's email said.
The man then wrote in bold type that he would have 'no hard feelings' if Mr Ward could not find a role for him.
'Your friendship means the world to me … and my respect for you is already as high as it can be,' the email read.
Mr Campbell put to the man that it was 'hardly a sentence you would use to describe a man who you allege had previously sexually violated you'.
'I disagree … this is me auditioning for a job … sometimes you overcompensate,' the man replied, adding that he had 'embellished' the email.
Mr Campbell said the man had been prepared to say something 'false' in the email, referring to his description of their friendship, to which the man agreed but added that he still held professional esteem for Mr Ward.
The man told the court that he still respected Mr Ward 'immensely', adding that he is an 'incredible local member'.
When he quizzed the man over his conversation with another parliamentary staffer in 2019, Mr Campbell said the man had told the staffer words to the effect that then Premier Gladys Berejiklian had selected a 'rapist', Mr Ward, as the minster for children in her cabinet.
The man replied that he didn't recall the conversation, but it would be 'consistent' with what he reported to police.
THE ALLEGATIONS
The man had earlier told the court that he attended an event on the night of the alleged assault at NSW Parliament House in 2015 before heading back to Mr Ward's apartment.
At Mr Ward's apartment, the MP poured the man a drink before allegedly attempting to kiss him on his balcony, to which the political staffer pushed him away and said 'no'.
Mr Ward leaned in again a short time later and kissed the man before the 24-year-old said he wanted to go to bed, the court was told.
The Crown alleges the man was shown to his room by Mr Ward, who had allegedly stripped down to his boxers. Mr Ward allegedly put an arm over the man and his hands on the man's buttocks before he was told to stop.
Without warning, it's alleged Mr Ward digitally penetrated him before allegedly kissing his neck and masturbating.
The two maintained a professional relationship for some time after the alleged events, the court was told.
The man made a formal statement years later to police, and Mr Ward was formally charged in March 2022.
In her opening address last week, Crown prosecutor Monika Knowles alleged that Mr Ward indecently assaulted another man, who had just turned 18, at his home on the South Coast in February 2013.
Beginning his political career in 2011, Mr Ward was a councillor on the Shoalhaven Council before becoming the Liberal member for Kiama in 2011, a seat he has held since.
The trial before a 15-person jury continues.