Gareth Ward's defence says police probe flawed, 'potentially dishonest'
The independent Kiama MP and former Liberal minister is facing five criminal charges, including sexual intercourse without consent and indecent assault, over allegations made by two men involving separate incidents in 2013 and 2015.
Mr Ward strenuously denies the claims.
The younger complainant alleges two incidents, including an unwanted back massage, occurred at Gareth Ward's Meroo Meadow home in 2013, when he was 18 years old.
The second complainant, a former political staffer who was 24 at the time, alleges Mr Ward sexually assaulted him at the MP's Potts Point apartment after an event at NSW Parliament House.
Following nine weeks of evidence led by the Crown, the defence today finalised its closing address.
Mr Ward's barrister, David Campbell, told the jury the police investigation led by former Detective Senior Constable Cameron Bignell had "selectively and potentially dishonestly cherry-picked what he wished to investigate".
He described Mr Bignell as a "miscreant" for ignoring directions from a colleague to seek parliamentary access and phone records.
The defence urged the jury to view with scepticism a 2021 police walk-through — filmed on a body-worn camera, showing the older complainant's walk from outside NSW Parliament House to Mr Ward's Potts Point apartment.
Mr Campbell questioned why it was recorded years after the alleged assault in 2015.
He also highlighted the older complainant's shifting account, including uncertainty around dates and the route into the apartment, and said misdescribed details of the bedroom's interior undermined his reliability.
Mr Campbell told the jury the older complainant's conduct after the alleged incident was inconsistent with his claim of trauma.
He said that behaviour included maintaining friendly contact with Mr Ward and, later, sending the MP a job application, in which he wrote: "Your friendship means the world to me and my respect for you is already as high as it can be."
Mr Campbell said it was "a rather astonishing application for employment" from someone who claimed to have been "sexually violated".
The defence told the jury the alleged assault did not happen and suggested the complainant was likely asleep on a couch at Parliament House, not at Mr Ward's Potts Point apartment as he claimed.
In the case of the younger complainant, Mr Campbell argued his version of events had undergone a "massive reconstruction" over the years.
He said the man's memory was unreliable and reshaped by time, and the use of alcohol and other substances.
The defence said the alleged back massage described by the complainant was not inherently sexual and did not amount to assault.
Mr Campbell told the jury the man had continued a long-term social relationship with Mr Ward.
The defence also said that when faced with such serious allegations, Mr Ward expressly denied it by entering a plea of not guilty.
"After all these years, and in the absence of any additional material, what more could he say?" Mr Campbell asked.
"He could only say, it did not happen."
Mr Campbell concluded by arguing that the Crown had failed to discharge the burden of proof on any count.
"Accordingly, Mr Ward should be found not guilty on each count in the indictment."
An expanded panel of 13 jurors was empanelled at the start of the trial to account for its expected length, but only 12 will decide the outcome.
Before deliberations begin, a ballot will be held to determine which juror will be excluded.
The judge has begun giving her directions to the jury and has told them they can expect to retire to consider their verdict tomorrow.
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