Pa. warrant waiting for Ward after first trial

Even if ex-Wharton professor Scott Ward is found innocent in his upcoming Virginia trial, an additional arrest warrant awaits him in Pennsylvania.

Ward will head to court Feb. 26 in Alexandria, Va., on charges of importing, producing and possessing child pornography, but any charges he faces due to child pornography allegedly found in his Huntsman Hall office have yet to be addressed.

Ward was arrested in Washington's Dulles Airport in August after returning from a trip to Brazil. He remains in federal custody in Virginia.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Levy, who is assigned to Ward's case in Pennsylvania, said the Pennsylvania arrest warrant is still active and will go into effect after the Virginia trial concludes.

Any court proceedings that may follow are also on hold until then.

"These are separate cases. It appears at this point that, once the Virginia case is resolved, he will be in court here to face our charges," said Richard Manieri, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office.

Levy added that, while Ward has already pled not guilty in Virginia, the two cases could be combined if he were to change his mind and plead guilty. If this happened, one judge could sentence him for charges in both states because the offenses are federal.

"If he wants to plead guilty and wrap it all up in one proceeding, then he can plead guilty in front of one judge and that judge can sentence him for all charges," Levy said.

Despite Ward's initial plea, Levy said that, sometimes, circumstances change.

After Ward's arrest in Washington, special agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement searched Ward's Huntsman Hall office and found additional pornography, leading to a second warrant.

According to an arrest affidavit signed by Special Agent Richard Stingle, two computers and several CDs and DVDs were seized from Ward's office.

One CD contained more than 80 still images of a person Stingle believed to be Ward and a boy between the ages of 14 and 15 engaged in "explicit sexual activity." The affidavit also said that a FedEx box Ward sent to himself contained videos of Ward and the same boy similarly engaged.

University President Amy Gutmann said after the Virginia arrest that Ward will no longer be teaching at Penn.

Ward had been arrested twice prior to this for sexual misconduct involving minors but never served jail time.

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