Prof may go to trial next month

Marketing Professor Scott Ward, who was arrested last fall for alleged prostitution and pedophiliac activities, will probably not go to trial until October, according to Montgomery County Deputy District Attorney Tom Egan. "The case is still on hold," Egan said in a phone interview yesterday. "Time constraints are not as pressing because Professor Ward is not in jail awaiting trial." Ward faces 11 counts in all, including criminal attempts to commit corruption of a minor, prostitution, and involuntary deviant sexual intercourse. "We are currently completing litigation regarding materials [the defense] is trying to get from the Commonwealth -- police reports, witness statements, police notes, physical evidence," Egan said. In the meantime, Ward is back in the classroom, and "will continue his academic responsibilities during the legal process," according to a statement released by the Wharton School's Public Affairs Office. This fall, he is scheduled to teach three sections of Marketing 621, an MBA course entitled "Marketing Management: Program Design." Ward did not teach during the spring 1994 semester. "I'm very much looking forward to returning to the classroom," he said last night. Ward's arrest on October 1, 1993 followed a six-week sting operation, during which Ward allegedly offered money for sex to Sean McMahon, an undercover state trooper posing as a teenage boy. The resulting four charges were dropped in November, when District Judge Caroline Stine determined that a microphone used to record Ward's conversation with McMahon had malfunctioned. In February, the charges were reinstated by Conshohocken Judge John Sachaczensky after a petition by Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Chris Maloney. Six other counts were filed at that time by a 17-year-old victim, who claims he had sexual contact with the professor between 50 and 100 times, beginning when the victim was 13-years-old. Involuntary deviant sexual intercourse is the most serious charge Ward faces, since it carries a 10-to-20 year prison sentence with conviction. Also, because the crimes involve minors, state mandatory sentencing guidelines enforce a minimum five-year sentence. Ward's attorney, Jean Green, was on vacation and could not be reached for comment about the case. But Ward, who has maintained his innocence since October, said he anticipates the trial with confidence. "I'll be found innocent when the facts finally come out," he said. "All there's been so far is innuendo."

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