Free Republic

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- As expected, former KGO Radio talk show host Bernie Ward pleaded guilty Thursday to a charge of distributing child pornography. Ward did not comment as he left the federal courthouse in San Francisco Thursday afternoon, but he did, though, admit to a judge that he sent a sexually-explicit image of a child over the Internet. After his arrest in December, Ward claimed he was researching a book. The judge agreed to hold off on accepting Ward's plea until his sentencing in August. That's so Ward can attend his son's high school graduation. He faces a minimum...

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Former KGO Radio talk show host, Bernie Ward, pleaded guilty this afternoon to one count of distribution of child pornography.

One of the more conspicuous silences during the whole Bernie Ward saga has been coming from KGO-Radio (810 AM), his longtime employer. Long the Bay Area's ratings king, the news-talk station has -- on the advice of its corporate parent Citadel Broadcasting says KGO president and general manager Mickey Luckoff -- suggested that its on-air talent not talk about Bernie. Not yet. "It wasn't an edict," Luckoff said Thursday, moments after Ward changed his plea to guilty to distributing child porn. "We have never, ever put restrictions on anybody here. We have never put an embargo on what people could...

San Francisco -- Former radio talk show host Bernie Ward, who pleaded not guilty in December to distributing and receiving child pornography via the Internet, plans to change his plea Thursday, federal court records show. Ward, 57, is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco to change his plea. He is a month away from going on trial. Ward's attorney, Doron Weinberg, was unavailable for comment Tuesday night. The case against Ward began when he engaged in sex chats with an online dominatrix and allegedly sent her pictures of children engaged in sexual activity, according...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Bernie Ward, a prominent radio talk show host and reporter in the Bay Area for more than two decades, admitted today to distributing child pornography in a plea deal that will send him to federal prison for at least five years. Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker was prepared to accept Ward's guilty plea at a hearing in San Francisco to one count of distributing child pornography, but agreed to hold off at the request of Ward's attorney, Doron Weinberg. Had the guilty plea been officially submitted today, Ward could have been sent to prison immediately. Instead,...