A teen’s friendly texts to a state MP and a decision to dance with him alone raised questions about whether claimed sexual abuse by the politician even occurred, a jury has been told.
Kiama MP Gareth Ward, 44, is on trial in the NSW District Court after pleading not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and indecent assault charges.
He is accused of inviting a drunk 18-year-old man to his South Coast home in February 2013.
The man told the jury Ward plied him with drinks before indecently assaulting him three times in one night, despite his attempts to resist.
Ward’s barrister David Campbell SC questioned these allegations during his closing address to the jury on Friday, saying the teen’s conduct in 2014 and 2015 suggested the claimed abuse did not take place.
At a party in 2015, the alleged victim called Ward onto the dance floor with video played to the jury showing pair dancing alone, the jury was told.
‘Is that the sort of conduct you’d expect from someone who says they’ve been previously sexually violated by this man?’ Mr Campbell asked.
In 2014, the alleged victim and Ward exchanged friendly texts, including when the teen moved interstate for a few months.
MP Gareth Ward has pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and indecent assault charges
In November 2013, they discussed catching up before Christmas.
‘Would love to. Miss you guys!’ Ward texted.
‘Don’t go sappy on me, big fellow. Ha ha, let’s do it,’ the alleged victim replied.
Mr Campbell again asked the jury if that was the sort of conduct they would expect if the teen had been sexually violated months before.
The long-time MP has also been accused of sexually assaulting an intoxicated political staffer after a mid-week event at NSW Parliament House in 2015.
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’.
Both complainants attributed Ward’s elevation to minister for families, communities and disability services in 2019 as a ‘breaking point’ to report their allegations to police, crown prosecutor Monika Knowles told jurors earlier on Friday.
She was addressing the alleged victims’ delay in reporting the matter to police, which led to Ward not being charged with the offences until 2022.
Ward has also been accused of sexually assaulting an intoxicated political staffer at NSW Parliament House
Both were scared for their jobs if they went to police and feared Ward’s ‘power’, Ms Knowles submitted.
She pointed to a conversation one complainant had with a colleague after former Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s 2019 state election win.
‘(They) said to (the colleague) that Gladys had selected a rapist as the minister for children in the cabinet … upon further questioning (he) said quite seriously that the accused had raped him,’ she told the court.
The other complainant ‘liked the feeling of ‘being in” and was a friend of Ward at the time of the alleged incident, along with an important business contact, the Crown said.
The defence closings continue on Monday.
