Criminal probe of Wharton prof ends

Marketing Prof. Scott Ward paid a fine to settle charges but did not admit any guilt. A Montgomery County judge last week fined Marketing Professor Scott Ward $2,500 and sentenced him to five years' probation on charges of attempting to promote prostitution and corrupt minors, according to Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Mark Miller. Ward, 56, entered what experts call an Alford plea, in which the defendant acknowledges that sufficient evidence exists for conviction but does not explicitly confess any guilt. Ward's plea and ensuing punishment marks the latest -- and likely final -- development in a case that dates back to October 1993, when Ward was arrested for allegedly soliciting sex from an undercover state trooper posing as a 15-year-old boy. According to a statement issued on Monday by the Wharton School's Office of Public Affairs, Ward's role as a University professor will not change and he will teach a graduate-level Marketing course in the fall. "Based on the policies of the University of Pennsylvania, Scott Ward remains as a member of the standing faculty in the Marketing Department," the press release said. Chairperson of the Marketing Department David Schmittlein refused to comment. In November 1995, Ward was acquitted by a Montgomery County jury on four criminal charges: involuntary deviant sexual intercourse, statutory rape, indecent assault and corruption of a minor. But in July 1996, he was once again tried in connection for three sex-related charges. A jury acquitted Ward of one of the three charges -- criminal attempt to commit involuntary deviate sexual intercourse -- but remained deadlocked on two other charges, the same two that he was sentenced on last week. Had Ward decided to plead not guilty, the trial would have started later this month. Now, with an Alford plea entered in lieu of a not guilty plea, both sides have differing views about the decision's actual implications. "My take on this is that he realized we could make a case," Miller said. "I don't know too many people who would plead guilty to sex-related offenses if they hadn't done it," added Miller, who has been involved in the case since 1994. Ward has adamantly denied the charges since they were first brought against him and recently maintained that he did "not have the financial and emotional resources" to plead not guilty and "go through [a trial] again." "Elementary analysis of the social psychology of juries, behavioral decision theory and risk management were important elements of my decision," Ward explained. But exactly how much evidence exists has been a major point of contention between the prosecution and the defense. Miller said the prosecution had evidence that, in October 1993, an informant told Montgomery County police that Ward often invited boys back to his Ardmore home, where he would coax them into having sex with him. As part of an undercover sting operation, then-23-year-old Pennsylvania State Trooper Sean McMahon -- posing as a 15-year-old boy -- arranged to meet Ward at the Ardmore train station on a Friday night in October 1993. When the two finally met at a Roy Rogers on Lancaster Avenue, according to Miller, Ward took him back to his home in Ardmore, Pa., and allegedly discussed prostitution and bisexuality -- all allegations that Ward refutes. "The trooper stated, under oath, that I never asked him for sex, at any time. He also stated under oath: 'It seemed like Dr. Ward wanted me to get some direction in my life.' This was the gist of the conversation between the trooper and me that was supposed to be tape-recorded," Ward said in a statement. Investigators have acknowledged that technical problems made parts of the alleged conversation unclear and that the recorder -- a small wire transmitter worn by the undercover trooper -- malfunctioned when a switch was set wrong. Due to the faulty setup, investigators said they failed to obtain a clear recording of the conversation. Although Ward admitted that he did ask the trooper about his sexual behavior, he claimed that he was solely concerned that the young man might require "immediately professional counselling" and had no sexual intentions in mind. Ward arrived at the University in 1979. He had taught at Harvard's Graduate School of Business Administration for 10 years prior to coming to landing a job at Wharton. He has received the Excellence in Teaching Award from Wharton's MBA students and has also also earned the Outstanding Professor Award from Wharton's undergraduate students.