Ivy League University Professor Busted for Child Porn, Sex with Underaged Boys
by Jim Kouri, CPP
Federal agents and prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against Professor Lawrence Scott Ward at his office at the University of Pennsylvania on Wednesday charging him with involvement with child pornography and having sex with underaged boys.
According to an affidavit, two computers and several CDs and DVDs were seized at Ward's University of Pennsylvania office on August 31. On one CD, investigators discovered more than 80 still images, many of which showed a person believed to be Ward and a boy between the ages of 14 and 15 engaged in explicit sexual activity.
Also seized was a FedEx box Ward had sent to himself which included six DVDs. They contain video showing Ward and the same boy engaged in explicit sexual activity.
According to the complaint, this defendant exploited and manipulated a child in unimaginable ways.
"When someone participates in or receives child pornography, they are inflicting injury on a child that will last a lifetime. It's our responsibility to pursue these predators, even if they leave the country, and hold them accountable," said one of the investigators.
Professor Ward, who teaches at the University's Wharton Business School, was arrested Sunday morning at a Washington, DC airport after he allegedly tried to enter the country with child pornography.
In a statement from the university released this afternoon, the school said:"We learned yesterday of the arrest of Scott Ward and the charges that were filed against him in Virginia. We have made arrangements to ensure that he will not be teaching at the Wharton School or elsewhere at the University [of Pennsylvania] this semester and he will not teach at Penn in the future."
Ward, 63, was convicted in 1999 in Montgomery County, MD for soliciting sex from an undercover agent posing as a 15-year-old boy.
The renowned professor was arrested when arriving on a flight from Brazil when he was flagged by investigators in a sex-predator crackdown for having taken "excessive" trips to Thailand, a haven for sex tourism, according to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In his luggage, customs agents discovered three mini-DVDs showing the professor performing sex acts with boys who appeared to be between 14 and 16 years old, according to an affidavit filed in federal court.
Agents also discovered a video on Ward's computer showing two children who appeared to be as young as 8 years old engaged in sexual activity, according to the federal affidavit.
If convicted, the professor faces a maximum sentence of 20 years with a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years and upon release must register as a sex offender. In addition, he may face other charges since the investigation is being characterized as "ongoing."
Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police. He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for a number of organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. He writes for many police and crime magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer, Campus Law Enforcement Journal, and others. He's appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc. His book Assume The Position is available at Amazon.Com, Booksamillion.com, and can be ordered at local bookstores. Kouri holds a bachelor of science in criminal justice and master of arts in public administration and he's a board certified protection professional.
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