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PissingOffTheLeft@yahoo.com
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SAN FRANCISCO -- KGO nighttime talk show host Bernie Ward was indicted
in federal court on Thursday on two counts of child pornography using
the Internet, according to the radio station.
Ward, a former Catholic priest, host two shows for the station, on
Monday from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. and the Sunday morning show called "God
Talk."
Ward's lawyer, Doron Weinberg, said his client, 56, pleaded not guilty
to the indictment before a federal magistrate in San Francisco on
Thursday.
He said Ward is due to reappear in court in late January before U.S.
District Judge Vaughn Walker for a status conference and scheduling of
a trial date.
Weinberg said the case stems from an "error of judgment" Ward made
when he spent a few days in 2004 looking at pornography images and
exchanging images with other adults when doing research for a book on
hypocrisy.
The attorney said, "It's really tragic that the government has decided
to prosecute him for a judgment he made as a journalist and to treat
him as a child pornographer when he is not."
"Bernie Ward has been a valued, long-time employee of KGO Radio,"
KGO's Operations Director Jack Swanson said in a statement. "We were
just recently made aware of these serious charges and are surprised
and concerned by their nature. As the matter is currently pending in
federal court, we will have no additional comment at this time."
The station announced that a substitute host will fill in for Ward
until further notice.
Ward's lawyer told KGO that the incidents in question are from more
than four years ago and were a part of research for a book.
His lawyer says that as part of the research, Ward downloaded a few
images of child pornography.
The specifics of the allegations against Ward remain under seal. Ward
is often called the Lion of the Left for his liberal views.
http://www.knbc.com/news/14800743/detail.html
in federal court on Thursday on two counts of child pornography using
the Internet, according to the radio station.
Ward, a former Catholic priest, host two shows for the station, on
Monday from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. and the Sunday morning show called "God
Talk."
Ward's lawyer, Doron Weinberg, said his client, 56, pleaded not guilty
to the indictment before a federal magistrate in San Francisco on
Thursday.
He said Ward is due to reappear in court in late January before U.S.
District Judge Vaughn Walker for a status conference and scheduling of
a trial date.
Weinberg said the case stems from an "error of judgment" Ward made
when he spent a few days in 2004 looking at pornography images and
exchanging images with other adults when doing research for a book on
hypocrisy.
The attorney said, "It's really tragic that the government has decided
to prosecute him for a judgment he made as a journalist and to treat
him as a child pornographer when he is not."
"Bernie Ward has been a valued, long-time employee of KGO Radio,"
KGO's Operations Director Jack Swanson said in a statement. "We were
just recently made aware of these serious charges and are surprised
and concerned by their nature. As the matter is currently pending in
federal court, we will have no additional comment at this time."
The station announced that a substitute host will fill in for Ward
until further notice.
Ward's lawyer told KGO that the incidents in question are from more
than four years ago and were a part of research for a book.
His lawyer says that as part of the research, Ward downloaded a few
images of child pornography.
The specifics of the allegations against Ward remain under seal. Ward
is often called the Lion of the Left for his liberal views.
http://www.knbc.com/news/14800743/detail.html
