Jury acquits Ward of all charges

After four-and-a-half hours of deliberation, the jury in the trial of Marketing Professor Scott Ward acquitted him of all four charges against him yesterday. He was charged with involuntary deviant sexual intercourse, statutory rape, indecent assault and corruption of a minor. But Ward is not even halfway finished with his legal battle. He faces two more trials -- one criminal and one civil. He was acquitted yesterday of charges that the professor paid a male teenager, "B.M.," for oral sex as many as 50 to 100 times. After embracing his attorneys and saluting the jury as they exited the jury box, Ward spoke to reporters on his way out of the courthouse. Ward also said that he felt bitter toward B.M. for his alleged extortion attempt -- considering all that Ward claims he did to help the teenager. He also expressed anger at the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for not having more seriously investigated B.M.'s alleged extortion attempts. Ward also dismissed the possibility that he would be found guilty in the impending civil suit filed by B.M. He added that "if [B.M.]'s civil attorney has any sense, he'd settle for old sneakers." But David Ginsberg, the attorney who will represent B.M. in his civil suit against Ward, said he is "certain [his] client will prevail in his civil case." Ginsberg also said that while the professor was found "not guilty," this does not mean he was found innocent. "All this means is that there was some doubt in the jury's mind as to whether it was proved that the professor was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," Ginsberg said. "It doesn't prove that he didn't commit the conduct he was charged with, and a lot of evidence was in fact kept from the jury." Ward also faces another criminal trial in connection with a 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 is charged with four crimes, including criminal attempt at involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, in connection with the sting operation. If found guilty, he faces 22 to 44 years in prison. During its deliberations, the jury made two different requests of Montgomery County Judge Bernard Moore. After about two hours, they asked to see transcripts of B.M.'s and Ward's testimony. Moore denied this request. Then about two hours later, they asked Moore to read to them again the conditions that would have had to been proved by the prosecution in order to convict Ward of corruption of a minor. About 15 minutes after Moore re-read the three conditions, the jury returned to the courtroom with its not-guilty verdict. Before the the two sides began their closing arguments, Ward's lead defense attorney, Jean Green, called three more witness to testify as character witnesses for Ward. Each spent about five minutes on the stand. Marketing Professor David Reibstein said that "everyone I've ever known has had the utmost admiration and respect for him." Rudolpho and Jean Besette, who traveled from Wellfleet, Mass. to testify, also said Ward was held in high regard by Wellfleet residents, and is a respected member of the Wellfleet community. Ward owns a house in Wellfleet. Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Mary Anne Killinger was also called by Green to testify yesterday. She said the Commonwealth did not follow up on tapping Ward's phone line after B.M. called him with his alleged extortion attempt because Ward's attorneys and the District Attorney's office could not agree on the terms of the tap. In his closing argument, Green attempted to divert the jury's attention from the sexual and pornographic evidence, and concentrated instead on B.M.'s alleged extortion attempt. He said "the video in this case" -- which depicted a conversation between B.M. and Ward in which B.M. asked for $12,000 to tell the "truth" in court -- was the most important piece of evidence in the trial. He also attempted to portray B.M. as a street-smart, world-class manipulator, and Ward as a victim of the teenager's manipulation. But in his closing argument, Montgomery County Deputy District Attorney Mark Miller attempted to portray B.M. as the victim and Ward as the manipulator. He compared Ward's Ph.D. degree to B.M.'s third-grade reading level, suggesting that a boy of B.M.'s limited intelligence would be unable to manipulate a person as intelligent as Ward. Ward said he will soon resume his academic responsibilities at the University. He is currently on a voluntary leave of absence. He also spoke of the encouragement he has received throughout his legal proceedings from his students and colleagues.

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