Ward to Change "Not Guilty" Plea

The ABC 7 I-Team has confirmed Bernie Ward will change his “not guilty” plea to child pornography charges tomorrow afternoon in Federal Court. Ward’s attorney, Doron Weinberg, would not tell us exactly what his plea will be, but Ward has two options – “guilty” or “no contest”. ABC 7 Legal Analyst Dean Johnson explains, on the criminal side, they have the same result – the judge writes down “guilty”. A “no contest” plea helps Ward if there were a civil suit; it’s not an admission of liability.

After Ward’s appearance tomorrow, he will have to report to the Probation Department, which will prepare a pre-sentencing report. He’ll have to return to court for sentencing at a later date.

Dean Johnson says, unless Ward and his attorney have been able to strike some extraordinary deal with prosecutors, the minimum prison sentence Ward will get under federal guidelines is 5 years in a federal institution. With credit for time served, Johnson says Ward will actually be in prison for more than 4 years. Once he gets out, he will have to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law for the rest of his life.

All this comes as we’re wrapping up our investigation into Ward’s time as a Catholic priest. We’ll have that story Thursday at 6 p.m., along with the latest from Federal Court.

*** UPDATE FROM DAN AT 12:02PM: KGO Radio is quoting an unnamed close friend of Ward: "Bernie has decided to plead guilty ... (he) says he decided to plead guilty on the advice of his attorneys." ***

Related Bernie Ward stories:

Inside Bernie Ward's online chats

Judge unseals indictment against Bernie Ward

I-Team blog: Bernie Ward and "Sexfairy"

I-Team blog: Ward fired -- for now

I-Team blog: Ward indicted on child porn

I-Team blog: Ward indictment unsealed

Comments

[Dcal5150]

very sad. I bet he does the "no contest" plea. I still don't believe he is a sex offender. I think this was his only option. As far as his leaving the priesthood, I doubt is was because of sexual misconduct. They just move those guys around! I think he started to question the "rules" the Catholics have.

[Charlie]

Good GOD Dcal! If HE'S not a "sex offender" then they ain't MAKING them anymore!

[Kelly O'Hara]

Sad, really sad.

I didn't always agree with Bernie and I was hurt when he made disparenging comments after Pete Wilson's death.

But after reading the Smoking Gun's document I could never listen to Bernie again.

To bad it wasn't Michael Savage.

[Giovanni33]

There is nothing I said that is mutually exclusive with a technical plea of guilty by Bernie. He has always admitted to being in possession of, transmitting two pictures and receiving one. But the context of this is a rather innocent one, and while he is technical guilty according to the letter of the law, he is not so by the spirit of the law.

These laws were created to target child pornographers, and those who are a danger to children, etc as evidence by the fact that they get excited by looking at children, etc. This does not fit Bernie in any way.

In fact his explanation is a completely logical and plausible theory: he was working on a book, and needed to explore the subculture of child porn on the Internet. Bernie was pretending. If he was not he would have been found to be part of a ring, and there was would have been more on his computer. They found nothing! Also, note that the indictment lists a very narrow window of time in which Ward accessed and traded child porn: only from December 23rd, 2004 and January 1st through the 13th, 2005. This is further evidence of Bernie's innocence in the larger picture. With real child pornographers you don't see such an isolated incident as we see here. Rather its consistent with Bernie NOT being motivated by any desire to possess child pornography or exploit children, but rather just what he was saying he was doing: researching a book.

We need to get passed the surface appearance of things and look at all the fact and see if it fits in a larger puzzle that makes sense. When we do we see Bernie is a good guy, innocent of any moral wrong doing, except perhaps he was not smart in how he went about doing this research as it involved some technical violations of the law (but what were the odds of getting caught?!). The fact is that Journalists do this kind of thing often for larger and public benefiting goals--and are not prosecuted. Neither should Bernie have been.

[Giovanni33]

Bernie should go to trial instead. He would probably prevail.

[Marco Pervo]

What a bunch of sicko Ward apologists. No wonder San Francisco has become such a cesspool. This is a flashback to the mid-90's when the same excuses were made for that filthy commie scumbag Allen Ginsberg when he openly supported NAMBLA.

I guarantee you lily-livered gloaters didn't cut Mark Foley the same slack.

[KLau]

"The fact is that Journalists do this kind of thing often for larger and public benefiting goals--and are not prosecuted. "

Please cite me your source to make such a claim.......one involving child pornography.

[PatW]

Bernie has really gotten in deep. But I do not believe he is a preditor. I think the prosicuting team has it all wrong. I believe he was doing an investigation as he said. It may look bad but that does not mean its true. I believe its something he hates and wanted to do something about. He was a great and strong reporter/ and his life has now gotten messed up because he is famous and the governments love to come down on famous people.

[PC]

So if all this was because he was writing a book, where is it?

[Jack Malice]

Kelly O'Hara has bought into the whole defense story, which isn't supported by the facts. Bernie is the one who brought up the topic of photographs with "SexFairy" and sent her the incriminating evidence. Nothing from her end of the chat showed that she was asking for kiddie porn. If Bernie was "researching" a book he was doing it by sending child pornography to complete strangers. This is why he's pleading no contest tomorrow.

[KLau]

You don't have to be a predator, going out and physically touching children to have broken the law, or to have caused real harm to a child.

Was or was not that child in the photos harmed? Each and every time that photo is transmitted, that child is abused and harmed again.
Clearly Bernie transmitted the photo.

As to this "practice" role playing with some totally strange person in Oakdale, how in any way was that supposed to lead to Republican or religious right, child porn involved, hypocrites?

How much role playing do you need to do to find the real Republican child porn hypocrites? Do you ask them for their party affiliation at the beginning or after several weeks of "role" playing with them.
This woman in Oakdale. Do we know her party registration? Did Bernie have some method to determine her voter registration or church membership?

Just how far does one have to bend over backwards to make these sorted details appear as a innocent mistakes?
I for one, am going to watch the I-Team report tonight.
I expect them to reveal some kind of history of earlier involvement by Bernie in activities neither you nor I would find acceptable.
Can we write it all off as happening because Bernie was "famous" as you suggest.
Well, I'll tell you, he wasn't famous 30 years ago. Let us see what Dan Noyes has uncovered.

[Non-Idiot]

Funny how you all would defend someone who wanted to use his own children for sexual gratification. This is simply further proof that the left places politics before all else.

Absolutely disgusting. But then again, what would one expect from such idiotic scumbags?

[Ryan]

The only good thing to ever come out of of San Francisco is Rice A Roni and Michael Savage.

[Debby]

"I guarantee you lily-livered gloaters didn't cut Mark Foley the same slack."

Mark Foley was a politician elected by the people who should have been able to be trusted. Instead he molested kids and because he's Republican, and a Bush Boy, like other Repubs who visited prostitutes, got away with it in front of the whole country.

[Albert J. Reine]

Only in San Francisco will you get the Liberal Sick Jouralismn,with the Media only reporting what they want you to read or here (Yellow Jouralismn) This person is a SICKO, He will get a very light sentence,write a book, make millions, maybe even a movie deal or a political job with OBama or be elected Mayor of SFO or Oakland, What a sad day for California and America, The City of SF will fall like Rome !

[Adrian Vance]

As one of the people who tried to help Bernie with media friends I was shocked and appalled to read the chat files published on the Michael Savage website. Bernie is clearly a sex freak and while jail may be a bit stiff he should be castrated if allowed to be free. He cannot handle the normal sex impulse. It is just that simple.

[Adrian Vance]

As one of the people who tried to help Bernie with media friends I was shocked and appalled to read the chat files published on the Michael Savage website. Bernie is clearly a sex freak and while jail may be a bit stiff he should be castrated if allowed to be free. He cannot handle the normal sex impulse. It is just that simple.

[Giovanni33]

Again, why do you accept the chat text as reflective of Bernie's true intentions, and thinking? Why do you reject the notion that it was a pretense to gain entry into the subculture of the internet sex world for his research and investigations? That is a completely logical premise not only advanced by Mr. Ward and others but consistent with all the other evidence.

I hope Bernie gets off with no jail time and is back on the air to present his side and refute all the speculative smears to his good name and character.

[KLau]

Giovanni3:3....

Regarding your version of Bernie's motivations during the chat being role playing for his investigation.

Giovanni33, How does Bernie determine that those he is chatting with are the people he is trying to reveal as being hypocrites?
He said he wanted to expose the Republican right wing participation in child porn.
How was he going to know his chat partners in porn were Republicans?
Was he going to ask them or were they supposed to announce it.

This motive is so flawed and YOU have failed to offer any answer as to how he would find these Republicans and right wing religious types.

BTW, KGO radio is announcing that the I-Team is set to reveal similar episodes in Bernie's life from 30 years ago. Long before Bernie ever thought about writing any books about this.

What will you say to that revelation?

[Giovanni33]

Hi Klau,

Those are good questions but one does not have a fully worked out plan before jumping into something. That is part of research--see where it takes you, and learn as much as you can. Maybe you will be lucky and find what you are looking for quickly--or maybe it will take months to find good leads. But in any case establishing a trusted relationships with someone who already does have lots of connections is a logical prerequisite.

Bernie was just being systematic and logical--and open ended blind approach. It makes sense to try to befriend and meet a person who is already in. Once that key connection is established, you can mine her for other sources and connections. She must know a lot of people, who confided many personal things. Maybe she will become a whistle blower after trusting Bernie and rat them out? Maybe it was just a means to get to know others in the sub-culture?

All these are logical answers to your question. They don't necessarily lead to the immediate goal, but they may be important steps at getting there. If we give Bernie the benefit of the doubt and assume he is telling the truth, all these are plausible explanations to his behavior consistent are with him being a good, moral, and rathe innocent participant in this unfortunate ordeal.

I don't know of any other revelations concerning Bernie from the past related to this matter. But I'll listen to anything with an open and critical mind, of course.

[John saunders]

I repeat, NOT "God-talk'.

[matt guest]

Adrian Vance-You amaze me-say you think jail is "a bit stiff", yet
you think he should be castrated?"
which is the more punitive sentence? Serving five yrs in a country club or removing the mans testicles? I bet bernie is glad you didnt go into law! with friends like you Ward could use some enemies! Or is that comment ("Stiff sentence" and castration) some kind of sick double entandre?
If I was innocent I would fight tooth and nail to clear my name and NEVER let anything or anybody detour me from that. Why do you reject the chat text as reflective of his intentions? why do you accept the notion that is was a pretense to gain entry into the sicko sub-culture? It may be logical to another sicko freak like you, but not to normal healthy people.

[Thomas Dobson]

Couldn't have happened to a more deserving sicko. I'll be celebrating the day he enters prison!
Yes Bernie, there is a God.

[Reese Copeland]

Seems as though a few LIbs here think that Bernie couldn't possibly be guilty, despite the evidence. Further they don't seem to be convinced that he should have to register as a sex offender. Really? Why? Could it because he's Liberal? He was busted for child porn, with proof! Are Libs saying now that because he's some big Lib, he shoudl get off? I say, when he gets locked up, announce to the prison what he did, then put him in General Population and see how long he lasts. I give it a few days at most before he's killed.

[Misty]

I am really shocked at this latest turn of events! So sad that Bernie's life has turned out this way; I listened to him often on his late night show and on "God Talk" and truly enjoyed it and learned alot. So sad.