A political staffer has told a Sydney court he embellished a glowing email he wrote to a state MP who allegedly sexually assaulted him years earlier.
The Kiama MP, Gareth Ward, 44, is on trial in theNew South Walesdistrict court after pleading not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and indecent assault charges.
The jury has heard Ward approached a young, drunk political staffer after a midweek event at NSW Parliament House in 2015 and offered him a place to stay for the night.
The man, who was 24 at the time but is now in his 30s, alleges Ward climbed into bed with him, groped his backside and sexually assaulted him despite him repeatedly saying no.
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During his third day of cross-examination on Tuesday, the alleged victim was asked about an email he wrote to Ward in March 2019, congratulating him on his appointment as minister for families.
“Your friendship means the world to me and my respect for you is already as high as it can be,” the man wrote to Ward.
He told the jury he sent the email in the hope of securing a job in politics at a time when he was worried about his career prospects. He said he had embellished and fibbed about appreciating Ward’s friendship.
The complainant maintained that the email was not inconsistent with his claims he had been sexually assaulted by Ward, whom he continued to hold in professional esteem.
“I respect Mr Ward immensely,” the alleged victim told the jury. “He is an incredible local member and he has done some incredible work as a minister.”
When asked if he had told another political staffer that the then NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, had chosen a “rapist” for her cabinet, the complainant said he couldn’t recall the conversation but the words were consistent with what he had reported.
He said he had not tell anyone about the alleged sexual assault before 2019 because it was “incredibly embarrassing” and “not something I would bring up in conversation”.
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The jury had previously heard the man had felt “dirty” and “confused”, and he asked himself whether he had invited what he said were unwanted advances.
Ward is also accused of indecently assaulting an intoxicated 18-year-old in 2013 at his south coast home after meeting the man at a networking event a year earlier.
The man claims the MP fondled his buttocks and scrotum, and gave him an unwelcome back massage despite his repeated requests to stop.
Ward, who was charged over the alleged assaults in 2022, is fighting the allegations in a trial set down for four weeks.
He has held the Kiama electorate since 2011, winning three elections as a Liberal before securing the seat in 2023 as an independent.