One of the victims of convicted sex offender Gareth Ward has told the former NSW MP's sentencing hearing the abuse left him traumatised and suicidal.
Ward was convicted in July of raping a 25-year-old man in 2015 and indecently assaulting a 19-year-old man in 2013.
The younger victim's impact statement was read aloud by a member of a victim support service on Friday in Paramatta District Court.
Both victims followed proceedings via audio-visual link, as did Ward, who appeared on screen from a Hunter correctional facility.
Ward, wearing a black V-neck top with a cardigan draped over his shoulders, sat quietly and alone, writing in an exercise book and a large legal notebook.
"Since Gareth Ward assaulted me in 2013, I've experienced severe mental health issues," the victim's statement b