Kiama MP Gareth Ward ‘encouraged' man to keep drinking on night of alleged sexual assault: court

Daily Telegraph

6 hours ago

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A man who alleges Kiama MP Gareth Ward sexually abused him says the state independent 'encouraged him to keep drinking' on the night of the alleged assault.
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.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
A man who alleges Gareth Ward sexually abused him has taken the stand to give evidence for the first time in the criminal trial. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short
Mr Ward arrived at the Darlinghurst District Court on Tuesday for the fifth week of his criminal trial before Judge Kara Shead SC.
In her opening address three weeks ago, Crown prosecutor Monika Knowles alleged that Mr Ward indecently assaulted a man, who had just turned 18, at his home on the South Coast in February 2013.
The court was told how Mr Ward had met the alleged victim, three months prior in Bomaderry, where they became friends.
The complainant took the stand for the first time on Tuesday to give evidence and told the court, on what the crown allege was the night in question in February 2013, he had been at a party in the Shoalhaven area.
The court was told that the man had left the party on his own and was feeling 'very low'.
'I didn't want to be there anymore,' he said, adding he felt 'a bit tipsy'.
He was then in contact with Mr Ward, who invited him over to his Meroo Meadow home, and offered to pay for his taxi ride.
At Mr Ward's home, the man says he was 'taken aback by how quiet' the place was, and the fact that 'there was no one else there'.
'We went inside … and I remember being instantly taken aback by how different the vibe was compared to the last time I'd been there … in a situation where there was a lot of other people there in a big social situation,' he told the court.
Mr Ward was allegedly 'encouraging' him to continue drinking at his home, the court was told.
NSW Member for Kiama, Gareth Ward, arrives at Darlinghurst Court after the trial was moved from the Downing Centre due to flooding. Picture: NewsWire / John Appleyard
'He was making us drinks and fixing them for us,' he said.
The second complainant's evidence is expected to continue on Wednesday morning.
Ms Knowles previously told the court in her opening address that on the night in question the 18-year-old and Mr Ward continued drinking together at his home.
At one point, the 18-year-old was laying on the grass when Mr Ward momentarily went inside.
When Mr Ward returned outside the alleged victim pretended to be passed out on the grass, 'as a joke', the crown alleged.
'At this point … without warning the accused slid hand into his shorts and rubbed his buttocks,' she alleged.
The alleged victim said he was in 'shock' and he 'froze', before Mr Ward allegedly moved his hand around to the 18-year-old's scrotum.
Mr Ward was then told the 18-year-old wanted to go to bed, but it's alleged Mr Ward replied it was 'not safe' for him to go to bed alone.
Inside the home, the 18-year-old laid down on his stomach, before Mr Ward allegedly turned off the lights and mounted him, before allegedly massaging his back.
The 18-year-old froze and told the accused to stop and that he wanted to go to sleep, to which Mr Ward allegedly told him to 'relax' before eventually stopping the massage and going to sleep next to him, the crown alleged.
The two maintained contact on a 'social level', the court was told.
The 18-year-old reported the alleged acts to police in November 2020.
It's also alleged Mr Ward sexually assaulted another man, who was 24-year-old at the time, in September 2015, at his Potts Point apartment.
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.
Originally published as Kiama MP Gareth Ward 'encouraged' man to keep drinking on night of alleged sexual assault: court