Knowles said the jury would hear evidence the pair drank alcohol and Ward “went inside the house momentarily” as the alleged victim lay on the grass outside, “pretending to be passed out, playing a joke”.
She said the jury would hear evidence that Ward slid his hands into the man’s shorts and rubbed his buttocks.
“[The alleged victim] was in shock, and he froze,” Knowles told the court. The alleged victim pretended he had been unconscious, Knowles said, and “played as though he had just woken up and was unaware he had been touched”.
The young man allegedly said he wanted to go to sleep, but Ward told him it would be “unsafe” to sleep alone and took the alleged victim to Ward’s own bed and turned off the light, Knowles said the jury would hear.
The Crown will allege Ward’s groin was on top of the alleged victim’s buttocks, and he began giving him a lower back massage.
“The accused said to relax and [the alleged victim] kept saying stop and the accused did eventually,” Knowles told the court.
They continued their social relationship, Knowles told the court, and the young man “eventually developed a drug habit”.
After the alleged victim got sober in 2018, he “was doing quite a bit of thinking and realised he was self-medicating”, Knowles said the jury would hear, and he reported the alleged assaults to police in November 2020.
Potts Point allegations
The Crown alleges Ward had sexual intercourse without consent with the 24-year-old complainant in September 2015 after inviting him back to his Potts Point apartment in Sydney’s eastern suburbs following an event at NSW Parliament House.
The young man had had “a few too many drinks”, Knowles said, and Ward invited him to stay at his apartment.
The Crown alleges he rebuffed Ward’s first attempt to kiss him. Seconds later, Knowles said, the MP tried again.
“This time, [the complainant] let the kiss happen for a few seconds,” Knowles said.
The Crown alleges the 24-year-old pushed Ward away when he felt his tongue, and said he had a big day the next day and wanted to go to bed.
“He was then shown to a room by the accused, which [the complainant] assumed he would have to himself.
“Indeed, the accused left the room, but he came back a short time later. In the intervening period [the complainant] had stripped down to his boxer shorts and undershirt, got into bed and was in the process of going to sleep.”
The Crown alleges Ward tried to put his arm over the complainant and eventually put his hand inside his boxer shorts and onto his buttocks.
The young man “told him to stop”, Knowles said. She said the Crown case was that Ward engaged in digital penetration and “kept going” after the 24-year-old told him to stop.
“The next morning they didn’t discuss what happened. The accused spoke to [the complainant] about his future and if [the complainant] stuck by him he would take care of [him].”
Knowles told the jury that the complainant initially “moved on with his life” after getting “what he saw as an apology” from Ward “a month or two” later.
In about April 2021, the Crown said, the young man realised he “hadn’t gotten over what had happened” and eventually gave a statement to police.
Addressing the 15-person jury before the Crown’s opening remarks, Judge Kara Shead said they are “the judges of fact” and they must decide what evidence they accept and reject.
She said the Crown must prove Ward’s guilt based on the evidence before them and that Ward “has no obligation to prove anything to you”.
“You should make observations when a person is giving evidence,” Shead said.
“Do you find that they’re accurate? Do you find that they’re honest?”
The estimated three- to four-week trial continues, with evidence expected to begin on Wednesday.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
Read the full article here
