<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A disgraced ex-MP's sentencing for the sexual assault of two young men has been delayed after an eleventh-hour court bid by his lawyers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Former Kiama state MP Gareth Ward was found guilty of rape and three indecent assaults in July following a jury trial.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The 44-year-old was due to learn his fate at Parramatta District Court today.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/brisbane-state-high-school-students-taught-wrong-subject-ancient-history-queensland-news/354199d1-897e-4f2b-b489-43f2935e6504" rel="" target="" title="Queensland schools taught students about the wrong Roman leader"><strong><span>Queensland schools taught students about the wrong Roman leader</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the date was pushed back to Friday after Ward's lawyer, Steven Burns, asked for extra time to make submissions about how the court should sentence his client.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A dispute between prosecutors and Ward's lawyers arose over whether he should be sentenced based on current court practices or those in place when the crimes were committed in 2013 and 2015.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Neither party opposed a short adjournment, but Judge Kara Shead chastised them for the "regrettable" delay over an issue that could have been raised earlier.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/rapist-ex-mps-sentence-delayed-by-11-hour-legal-bid/7e9c1ea4-ad2a-4c7e-b20e-7741818d0908" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She acknowledged the frustration of Ward's two victims, who were watching the hearing via an audio-visual link.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The former MP, who has been held in custody since July, dialled in wearing prison greens but did not speak during the brief appearance.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ward invited a drunk 18-year-old man to his home on the NSW south coast in February 2013 after hearing the teen was having troubles with his girlfriend.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They continued drinking before the MP indecently assaulted him on the grass outside and in his bedroom.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"No, like I'm going to sleep. Get off," the teen said while on the politician's bed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ward replied: "No, relax. You know I'll give you a massage."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>LIVE UPDATES:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/hurricane-melissa-landfall-jamaica-live-updates-most-powerful-storm-of-2025/39ea098e-c578-4dec-8d68-3a844c6d72e4" target="_blank"><strong><span>Hurricane Melissa tears through Jamaica</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Two years later, Ward sexually assaulted an intoxicated political staffer at the then-Liberal MP's inner-city apartment after a mid-week event at NSW Parliament House.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The man, who was 24 at the time, said Ward climbed into bed with him, groped his backside and sexually assaulted him despite him repeatedly saying "no".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He testified to the jury that he was uncomfortable and felt "a jolt kind of pain".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He said in a victim impact statement that any hope he had of finding future love after coming out in his 20s had been taken away by what happened.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I was raped by a politician - someone entrusted with protecting our most vulnerable," the man wrote.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ward's other victim reported being haunted by that night and fearing for his safety in the lead-up to the trial.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The cost of this experience ... has been a numbness, a dulling of my ability to fully experience and enjoy the positive things in life," he wrote.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ward has relied on his legal blindness and his public fall from grace to argue he should be given a community sentence rather than a jail term.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Character references tendered with the court, including from former Liberal MP Shelley Hancock, said the offending was out of character.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I absolutely affirm that Gareth would not be a danger to anyone in the community at all," Hancock wrote.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>After reports police were investigating sexual crime allegations in 2021, Ward was removed from his position as minister for families, communities and disability services and shifted to the crossbench.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His personal vote was so significant he was re-elected as an independent during the 2023 election despite the charges hanging over his head.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ward resigned from his position in August, hours before a parliamentary expulsion vote was due to take place.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In doing so, he narrowly avoided becoming the fifth person expelled from NSW Parliament in two centuries.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)</span></strong></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028</span></strong></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>Lifeline 13 11 14</span></strong></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>beyondblue 1300 22 4636</span></strong></em></div></div>