Ex-Wharton professor emeritus Scott Ward likely won't be going home anytime soon, despite his option to post $2 million bail, legal experts say.
Even if he is willing to pay, experts say the decision to grant bail could be overturned, and there is still the matter of the separate charges that he faces in Pennsylvania.
It is unknown whether Ward is financially able - or willing - to post bail or meet the stringent release requirements that Virginia federal magistrate Judge Thomas Jones outlined for Ward on Wednesday, when his charges for importing child pornography were upheld.
And while Ward's attorney would not comment on the likelihood that Ward would pay, Philadelphia criminal-defense attorney Patrick Artur said that $2 million is an astronomical amount for bail.
"The average defendant wouldn't be able to come up with that," he said.
Even if Ward does opt to post, his additional Pennsylvania child-pornography charges - which have not yet been formally addressed in court - could prevent him from getting any down-time in his Massachusetts home, where the judge ordered he remain should he post bail.
"A judge [in Pennsylvania] is going to have a completely different take on the case than a judge" in Virginia, Artur said. "I don't see [Ward] going anywhere soon this week."
Artur added that the Pennsylvania judiciary is considered "tougher" on cases that deal with flight risk and danger to the community than the Virginia judiciary. Federal prosecutor Ed Power said these considerations are strongly relevant in Ward's case.
Additionally, Power motioned to appeal the Wednesday ruling setting bail, which makes Ward's fate even less clear. If the motion is successful, Ward would remain in jail until his trial.
Legal experts say that when a hearing is appealed, district judges tend to side with the government.
"I suspect that the [bail] will be revoked" and that Ward will stay put, said Bruce Lehr, a Florida-state and federal criminal lawyer.
"This is a very touchy subject, and some judges would right off the bat consider [Ward] a danger just by virtue of possession of [child pornography]," Lehr added.
A rescheduled appeals hearing - which will now go up to a Virginia district court - would likely take place today.
Since 1998, federal sentences have gotten stricter, and prison sentences for child pornography cases now range from at least five to 30 years, according the U.S. District Attorney Web site.
Experts also say that Ward's records work against him, not for him.
"There's a greater risk of flight because of his history," said Lehr. "The number of prior convictions [Ward] has will enhance the penalty he's looking at."
