Professor accused of paying for sex with minors

East Meadow High School '94 East Meadow, N.Y. Marketing Professor Scott Ward sat virtually expressionless throughout an evidentiary hearing in April as county prosecutors accused him of soliciting prostitution from minors. Meanwhile, his defense team argued that most of the evidence allegedly pointing to his guilt, including pornographic materials and correspondence found in Ward's home, is inadmissible in court. Ward's criminal charges included attempts to commit corruption of a minor, involuntary deviant intercourse and solicitation to commit prostitution. According to the prosecution, Ward had performed sexual acts with a number of young boys for years preceding his arrest. Police became aware of his alleged actions when Alan Giorgio, a young man who claims to have been Ward's pimp, came forward. In addition, one of Ward's alleged victims, known to the court as "B.M.," has agreed to testify for the prosecution. The four-day suppression of evidence hearing in April centered around the materials found in Ward's home in Ardmore, an affluent Philadelphia suburb. According to Deputy Montgomery County District Attorney Tom Egan, the evidence includes "articles about boys engaging in homosexual acts?[and] dozens of photographs of young males engaging in masturbatory acts and sexual relations." Egan added that detectives also found an article about child prostitution in Russia, along with an unsigned letter complaining the article "puts what we like on the agenda." But defense attorney Jean Green argued that the items in question were obtained illegally. In court, he questioned the search which the police conducted on the night Ward was arrested. According to several witnesses, the police entered Ward's home before they obtained an arrest warrant and search warrant for the premises. Detective Raymond Kuter from the Montgomery County District Attorney's office testified, however, that police waited for a telephone call from the judge who issued the warrant before beginning their search. If Ward's residence was illegally searched, the pornographic material, relevant computer files and other allegedly incriminating evidence found inside could be suppressed. Also in dispute is McMahon's testimony. Although McMahon was wired when he entered Ward's home, the police botched the attempt to tape the conversation. "Since I didn't check [the recorder], I consider it to be my fault," Kuter testified. But Green challenged the claim that the tape recorder malfunction was a simple oversight by detectives on the scene. "If you believe they forgot to set the tape correctly, you also believe in the tooth fairy," Green said. The defense is currently examining the tape to determine whether it has been erased. Finally, Green questioned the reliability of Giorgio, Ward's alleged pimp. Giorgio's accusations were made on the day he was sentenced to three to six years in prison for burglary. Subsequently, his sentence was lightened. While Egan claimed the change in sentence was due to a court mistake, Defense Attorney Donald Martin said the new sentence "was more lenient than the mistake allowed for." The prosecution also questioned the legality of certain pieces of defense evidence. The defense interviewed "B.M." in February, an act which the prosecution claims was unethical since his lawyer was not notified. The prosecution wants to suppress the audio and visual tapes of this interview. The actual trial was scheduled to start on May 15, but new Montgomery County District Attorney Mark Miller said he expected delays in the beginning of the trial. Following the criminal case, Ward faces a civil suit filed by "B.M."