Teen accuser takes stand in Ward trial

and Brett Levinson A jury heard graphic details of the alleged sexual relationship between Marketing Professor Scott Ward and a then-13-year-old boy during testimony in the third day of Ward's criminal trial yesterday. Ward faces criminal charges of soliciting sex in 1990 from an underage boy -- known as "B.M." -- and is alleged to have had oral sex with him between 50 and 100 times throughout 1990 and 1991. B.M. vividly described his sexual encounters with Ward and the circumstances surrounding them during his three hours of testimony yesterday. The young man, now 19 years old, appearing nervous and emaciated in loose-fitting pants and a sweatshirt, recalled meeting Ward for the first time in a Kensington neighborhood, which a social worker said was frequented by male prostitutes. "He asked me if I got paid for having sex with guys," B.M. said. Ward then invited him into the car, the boy said, and drove around for nearly 25 minutes. Although the two had no sexual contact that day, Ward allegedly gave B.M. $20 and a piece of paper with "Scott" and his telephone number on it. B.M. recalled Ward's telephone number by memory during his testimony. B.M. testified that after a few days, he called Ward because he was both "hungry" and "cold". "I needed the money," he said. He added that Ward arrived about 45 minutes after the call, and the two drove to the Holiday Inn on City Line Avenue where Ward rented a room. After watching television next to Ward on the bed for a few minutes, "he then started massaging my shoulders, rubbing my arms up and down," B.M. said. "He then told me to take my clothes off and showed me what to do." B.M. described in graphic detail how he and Ward had oral sex. According to B.M., after the two spent the night in the hotel, Ward drove him back to Kensington, gave him about $40 and told him to call if he wanted to "get together" again. B.M. said that when he began attending a reform school, Ward located him there by asking his former guidance counselor of his whereabouts. He said he went to Ward's home almost every other weekend while at the school. He testified that four other young adults were often at Ward's home as well. B.M. claimed he usually had oral sex with Ward during these visits in exchange for about $25 per weekend. B.M. also said Ward took him to a dentist to have cavities filled, and to a physician for treatment of scabies, a skin disease. After about a year, B.M. testified, "I told [Ward] I didn't want to have sex with him any more. He always asked me again and again, but I said, 'No, no, no.' He just always asked me and nagged me about it." B.M. also claimed that Ward showed him homoerotic pornographic films and photographs, while asking him, "Do you like that? Do you see that?" B.M. testified that Ward drove to his school in early October 1993 and told him to deny any sexual contact with Ward if anyone questioned him about their relationship. During his cross-examination of B.M., Ward's lead attorney Jean Green attempted to highlight inconsistencies in B.M.'s allegations. B.M. revealed that he was apprehensive and embarrassed when he first began to reveal his relationship with Ward to social workers and authorities, and was therefore sometimes hesitant to tell them all of the details. Green also questioned B.M. about the financial gains he stands to make from his allegations. But B.M. said the attorney who will represent him in his civil suit against Ward, David Ginsburg, has not discussed dollar figures with him. "I let Mr. Ginsburg worry about that," he said. Green also suggested that B.M. made extortion attempts during telephone calls to Ward after pressing charges against him. B.M. answered that he was cold and hungry and "wasn't asking him for money." "I was asking him for help, any way [that] he could help me," B.M. said, adding that it was Ward who always brought up the topic of money in their conversations. B.M. testified that Ward offered him between $10,000 and $12,000 to come to court and tell Ward's "truth." Jeremy Fischer, an attorney and the executive vice president of the Adult Adolescent Counseling Corporation, testified earlier yesterday about Ward's relation to his organization. Ward claimed to have been a member of the board of directors of the corporation, an umbrella group that handles troubled youths. Fisher said that "he had never heard of Ward," and he found "no reference to Ward" in any of the corporation's documents. The criminal charges against Ward stem from an October 3, 1993 sting operation in which he allegedly offered money for sex to Sean McMahon, an undercover state trooper posing as a 15-year-old boy. Ward will receive 22 to 44 years in jail if convicted of this offense. Following his criminal trial for allegedly engaging B.M. in involuntary deviant intercourse, Ward faces another criminal trial based on his solicitation of McMahon, as well as a civil suit filed by B.M. According to Wharton spokesperson Chris Hardwick, Ward has taken a voluntary leave of absence from his academic responsibilities during these legal proceedings, contrary to a report in yesterday's Daily Pennsylvanian. In a courtroom interview with the DP, Ward maintained that he stands wrongly accused. "The facts will show that this is a trial of extortion, not of sex or pornography," he said.

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