In a plea agreement, former KGO talk radio host Bernie Ward faces at least five years in 
prison on a single count of distributing child pornography.
Ward, 57, admitted to Judge Vaughn Walker as part of his plea agreement that he sent between 15 and 150 images of child pornography via e-mail.
The charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a possible maximum of 20 years. Doron Weinberg, Ward's defense lawyer, said he expects Ward to spend at least four years and three months in prison even with credit for good behavior.
Ward was to go before a jury in Walker's court on June 9. Originally charged last year with two other counts of receiving and attempting to send child pornography in January 2005. Those charges are to be dropped in the plea bargain.
The defense told the judge that Ward's use of pornography occurred "in a few weeks in 2004 and 2005" and reflected "an error in judgment rather than sexual proclivity."
Walker will sentence Ward Aug. 28.
Ward is a former Catholic priest and teacher, lives in San Francisco, is married and has four children. He worked in radio for about 20 years and had a loyal following for his weeknightly political show and Godtalk, on Sunday mornings. Both shows were on KGO.
He originally claimed that he was looking at the illegal material researching a book on hypocrisy. The defense filed a motion asking the court to allow Ward to argue that his actions were protected by the First Amendment.
The defense team concluded that courts would not allow that argument. "He thought it was legal to do it as a journalist, but our conclusion was that the courts wouldn't accept that," Weinberg told reporters Thursday.
"Bernie is not a sexual predator," he said.
But the indictment, once unsealed with its damning transcripts of online chats, made Ward's original claim of book research on hypocritical Republicans really hard to swallow, and knocked the underpinnings from any free speech defense.
The chats were not with some closeted Republican honcho-pervert, but with "Sexfairy," a small-town dominatrix who immediately blew the whistle upon receipt of kiddie porn from Bernie.
It's Christmas week, three years ago. Ward's on his home computer using the screen name "Vincentlio." He begins the chat with "Good afternoon, mistress." The woman using the name "Sexfairy" answers, "How was your day, slave?" In explicit detail, Ward describes being humiliated sexually. At one point, he asks, "Are you going to make me feel dirty, mistress?" "Sexfairy" answers, "Yes, I am."
Ward discusses group sex he had at an infamous porn theater in San Mateo. Then, nearly an hour into the conversation, he brings up photographs, "I love trading pictures." "Sexfairy" answers, "and why haven't I gotten any pics, slave? Send me some."
Ward sends several pictures -- one of a woman and two children. Ward describes her as a mother in her late thirties, she's topless. He says the naked boy is 14, that the girl wearing clothes is 12. They're all touching in a sexual way.
"Sexfairy" writes, "brb," (be right back). A half hour later, she's on the phone with police, reporting Bernie Ward for child porn. They tell her to keep chatting with Ward.
"It would be important to the case to gather as much information as possible in support of bringing charges against the person that's sending these pornographic messages," says Chief West.
In the days that follow, "Sexfairy" asks Ward for more pictures -- he complies. Then, police get a search warrant for Ward's AOL account. E-mail sent and received by "Vincentlio" had pictures attached.
An investigator writes, "several of the photographs depicted children engaged in or simulating sexual acts with adults or other children." The ages of the children in the pictures -- four to 17 years old.
This is really a sad story. We doubt very seriously that Bernie Ward is a sexual predator in the clinical sense, but only in the strict, zero-tolerance of the strict federal laws.
The fairness of these laws, and the mandatory sentencing which throws a weak-willed Bernie in with the child rapists may be questioned, and debated.
But the fact remains he was passing these pictures around in a situation that appears as if he was sexually indulging himself; he lied about it, and tried to couch it in Constitiutional terms. That provides him little cover, especially as a hypocrisy hunter.
Still, five years in the federal penitentiary for what in essence is a
crime about masturbation is heavy, and tempering justice in a case like this should be what a
judge's discretionary powers are about.
Too bad for Bernie and his family that the judge in this case has none.
Seems to me that the judges discretion is what may get him closer to five as opposed to 15 or 20 years. I do not know the guy, nor do I remember ever hearing him on the radio so I can't shed a tear over his getting caught.
Seems to me that a guy and others like him who seek out that crap create a market that others exploit to the detriment of little kids. That being the case, than fuck him. Let him grow really old in prison.
Posted by: chucks | May 11, 2008 at 04:30 PM
Talk about a big fat hypocrite. Bernie Ward spent his career publicly condemning Republicans as scumbags; while he was privately wallowed in child pornography. The phony righteous indignation of a liberal.
Posted by: abob | May 11, 2008 at 05:04 PM
Sure abob,
You mean like the the hypocrisy demonstrated by Republican sex offenders Mark Foley or Larry Craig?
How about about the "phony righteous indignation" shown by Rush Limbaugh as he attacked drug users, advocating harsher penalties, all the while stuffing illegally gotten pills into his big mouth with both fat hands.
Posted by: Upton | May 11, 2008 at 05:58 PM
"He originally claimed that he was looking at the illegal material researching a book on hypocrisy."
Well, now he will have plenty of time to write that book.
Bernie is a bright and extremely well educated man. I was in the Bay Area when he first started out on KGO. Didn't agree with him but respected his show. This is sad for his family, himself, and of course any victims.
IF in fact he wasn't engaging in actual sex acts with a minor and was merely talking/fantasizing about it the Judge will take all that into account. But engaging in sending/receiving child porn is a big deal in and of itself. 5 plus years I am guessing.
Has anyone come forth claiming that Bernie engaged in actual molestation? Have they been able to identify the people in the pictures?
Of course, even when he serves his term he will be signing in as a sex offender.
His life is essentially over as he knows it.
Posted by: PugetSound | May 11, 2008 at 06:01 PM
I agree Upton, remind me again the jail time given to Mark Foley??
Even Bernie's closest friends are telling him he did a stupid stupid thing. Im certainly not condoning it, or think he shouldn't be held accountable. It is just too bad that our justice system is not consistent in handing out punishments.
Posted by: sparky | May 11, 2008 at 06:55 PM
I cannot find any sympathy for this man. How many times have we taught children and warned parents to be vigilant because you never ever know?
Peter B. (a repeat) talked at length about this last night. He was very kind about it to Bernie but he also was realistic. And he felt the evidence was pretty incriminating by virtue of the transcripts which had been unsealed.
A caller made the claim that Bernie left the priesthood under a cloud as well. He gave no evidence that I recall but the claim is out there. Twenty years ago? That's about the time of all the priest-problems and I know of one personally that quit the priesthood because, as he said, "I was accused and didn't want to go through it so just quit." Well, I can tell you that most of us were very disappointed and shocked.
And remember the fine teacher who was shot by Darren something-or-other because it turned out that teacher (Mr. Nicest teacher at Whitman) had been grooming and sexually assaulting the kid for years.
Sorry. A picture of a topless woman with two children - one naked - touching each other sexually isn't hard to figure out for me.
I think he's probably getting what he deserves.
No poor Bernie from me. I am very, very sorry for his family, however.
Posted by: joanie hussein | May 11, 2008 at 07:57 PM
Sparky
Why isn't Mark Foley getting prison time?
Posted by: PugetSound | May 11, 2008 at 08:08 PM
Hell if I know, Puts. That was my point. He received "counseling" and was pronounced cured. I guess soliciting sex from minors has "extenuating circumstances" unlike the exchanging of child pornography over the internet, which has a federal no-second-chance law behind it.
Joanie, the alleged "cloud" stemmed from two women who said Bernie tried to kiss them when they were younter, and they said they filed a complaint at that time. The diocese has no record of any complaint, and later they admitted they lied. He left the priesthood because he wanted a family. Several people here on Blatherwatch "know for certain" he molested his children, but there is no evidence of it, or it would have been added to the existing charges.
Posted by: sparky | May 11, 2008 at 10:36 PM
I need to watch my pronouns..
The women admitted they lied, not the diocese. I misplaced the "they".
Posted by: sparky | May 11, 2008 at 10:38 PM
Thanks for clarifying that, Sparky. Too much smoke usually means fire but, in this case, the smoke was simply hot air.
Posted by: joanie | May 12, 2008 at 07:43 AM
In the interests of just plain funny, I submit this clip.
O'rellygoesnuts
Posted by: PugetSound | May 12, 2008 at 08:11 PM
Yes, that is why I conjured up the Orally link from March...I didnt post the link, though.
That is only one of many out there...
Posted by: sparky | May 12, 2008 at 09:34 PM
Good catch Sparky.
I'm sure you also liked the ones of Olby blowing up.
Posted by: PugetSound | May 13, 2008 at 07:43 PM
Radio Host Melanie Morgan offers an interesting view of her time with Bernie Ward:
"I have known Bernie Ward for over 20 years.We worked together for 5 or 6 years.
I liked Bernie for about one year.
That year would have been 1995, when he and his wife dined with me and my husband in Marin County, Calif.
(Full disclosure: my husband Jack Swanson was Bernie Ward's boss.)
It was an entertaining evening, and Bernie and I had a pleasant relationship.
But things began changing as I saw Bernie close up, and I did not like the real Bernie Ward.
The way he treated his family, for one thing, screaming at his children in public for seemingly minor misbehaviors on the many occasions he brought them to KGO/KSFO radio functions, and to our home.
Since I became a conservative almost 15 years ago, Bernie has attacked me relentlessly, lying about my positions on the national and local airwaves, with poisonous personal attacks. I rarely responded.
But I did refuse to appear with him in split/screen on any number of cable TV shows. I told producers that if they booked him with me, I would walk off the air.
There was a darkness of his soul that repelled me.
Now he is about to become a convicted felon, and serve many years in jail for transmitting images of children involved in sexual positionings with each other, as well as adults, and fantasizing about sex with his own children. (See the I-Team police report at www.abc7.com, if you can stomach it.)
I am not celebrating Bernie Ward's demise. But I am relieved that the rest of the world has recognized evil among us.
I honor the excellent work of the federal prosecutors in Northern California who brought this case to a successful conclusion.
I hope that Judge Vaughn Walker will sentence him to the maximum penalty and not be swayed by Bernie Ward's celebrity.
And I will pray every night for his wife and each of his four children, some of whom I have known since they were babies, and that they can heal from this abject horror."
Posted by: PugetSound | May 13, 2008 at 08:28 PM
An interesting hour with Ronn Owens of KGO discussing Bernie Ward. Click on the show for 8 May 2008.
RonnOwensKGO
Posted by: PugetSound | May 13, 2008 at 08:43 PM
"Since I became a conservative almost 15 years ago, Bernie has attacked me relentlessly, lying about my positions on the national and local airwaves, with poisonous personal attacks. I rarely responded."
LOL!!!!
Oh call Melanie a whaaaambulance.
Melanie Morgan who got canned from KSFO because of the outrageous stuff she spewed, canned from her appearances on News Hour on PBS for calling an Iraq war veteran "sympathetic" to Al Quesadia.
Whenever a right wing pundit loses its job, an angel gets its wings!
Posted by: sparky | May 13, 2008 at 08:49 PM
So, I take it that the only opinions about Bernie you respect are from the people who already didn't like him.
He's going to jail, Puts. Let it go.
Posted by: sparky | May 13, 2008 at 08:51 PM
Poor Melanie, I bet she would have never had that experience 15 years ago if she was at this guys house
Posted by: GOBAMA | May 13, 2008 at 08:55 PM
Sparky
Sometimes people that disagree with you can be correct.
Read the tag theme of this post.
You may find the ronn owens KGO show interesting.
Posted by: PugetSound | May 13, 2008 at 08:58 PM
I must say I was very surprised to hear of all the things Bernie has done. I only hope that his time in prison will allow him to think about all the lives he has affected. I listened everynight to him and was beginnig to think that he was going over on a lot of issues,but never once did I think he was into child porno. He needs some serious help. When will he go to prison and where? I would like to write to him when he is there. I had a son who was in San Quentin for 1 year and they don't take to well to child offenders so he had better watch what he says and to whom he says it. Does he realize all the hurt his family must be feeling for his indiscretions and sex needs.
Posted by: Rose Butler | August 21, 2008 at 10:44 AM
l.o.l hey bernie i used to call your show and you ued to call me the poster child of prison convicts i used to call and joke around wit you ...now look at you you sick fucking son of a bithc fagot if you never been to the pen ....you will die fool...you carry a very heavy jacket for the pen.....your friend mark phelps......burn in hell
Posted by: mark phelps | December 08, 2008 at 09:02 PM
400 pound troll promoting the sexual predation of children, yet Liberals still can find sympathy for him. I say this---you typically catch someone at no more than 1% of what they have gotten away with. 100 years in jail is my sentence for him. Let that troll rot in an 8 x 8 cell, period. God only knows what he got away with since his clergy days. His, along with our kids, are safer now.
Posted by: Matt Hooper | May 13, 2010 at 07:21 AM
I hear Bernie is teaching while in prison. The fact that he is doing something for others shows me he cares for others. Our Lord wants all his creation to be forgiven and I believe Bernie can be forgiven I feel for his family and pray they are doing well. Let us not take over Gods job of dealing with Bernie. God created him and knows him and can heal and save him.
Posted by: Roberta Robinson | January 08, 2012 at 07:53 AM
The worst is over for Ward. I believe he only has about 31 months left of his 72 month sentence, assumong hes behaved himself in prison. Hopefully hes accepted the fact that he did wrong and feels ermorse for what hes done somehtign he never did while on the outside of steel bars, and one of the main reasons why his sentence was so harsh.
Posted by: Tommy008 | January 08, 2012 at 08:05 AM