“He said good things about me and said he was impressed by the work I was doing,” the man said, adding the compliments were “confusing” as Ward wouldn’t have seen the man’s work.
Ward is on trial over the alleged indecent assault of one man and alleged rape of another.Credit: Steven Siewert
He said he accepted an offer to stay at Ward’s apartment in Sydney’s east that night due to difficulties getting home, and the compliments continued as the pair walked to Potts Point.
“I was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable because he was being a little too gracious about his kind words about me,” the man said.
At the apartment, the man said Ward poured them another drink before attempting to kiss him. “I said no and put my hand between us [on his chest],” the man said.
Loading
About a minute or two later, the man said Ward tried again and was successful.
“I lifted my head back and said I had a big day the next day,” the man said, adding that Ward then led him to what looked like a spare room with no personal effects or decorations and left.
Shortly after undressing and getting into bed, he said Ward got into bed with him and attempted to cuddle. The man said he removed Ward’s arm and moved away from him.
The court heard Ward began groping the man and didn’t stop when he said no, before digitally penetrating him and masturbating in the bed.
After the alleged rape, the man said he struggled to fall asleep.
“I couldn’t stop my brain from analysing what had gone on … I was wondering what had given him the sense that I was open to that,” he said.
He said he wondered if he should have pushed Ward off, protested more loudly, or gone home sooner.
“[I felt] a bit down, a little dirty and confused … Everything was going through my mind.”
He said that the next morning, the pair walked back to parliament, where Ward suggested the man had had too much to drink, continued complimenting him, and at one stage, “said he’d take care of me”.
The man said he didn’t speak about the alleged incident until early 2021, when he disclosed it to a federal parliament staffer.
“I said along the lines that he had touched me inappropriately. I recall her saying that I wasn’t alone,” he said.
A journalist from The Australian later contacted him regarding a separate allegation of assault against Ward. He told them he didn’t know anything about another victim, but flagged his own experience.
He then contacted Ward’s office, as well as the parliamentary staffer, and agreed for the staffer to pass his number onto the police investigating the other incident.
Crown prosecutor Monika Knowles questioned why he hadn’t contacted the police previously.
“It was the doubts in my head … It wasn’t [what] I thought rape was. I didn’t realise how serious it was or how much it impacted me until people started talking to me about it,” he said.
The man added that Ward’s position in the Liberal Party also complicated things.
“He was the minister responsible for child safety. Any kind of allegation like this, unless I was confident in the process, would have just been humiliation.”
The estimated three- to four-week trial is set to continue on Thursday before a 15-person jury.
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
