Former Ivy League Prof Sentenced on Child Porn Charges
Professor made sex videos with minors, was caught with tapes in U.S. airport.
May 11, 2007 — -- An Ivy League business school professor has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for having videos of himself engaging in sexual acts with children, ABC News has learned.
Authorities caught Lawrence Scott Ward, 64, with child pornography in his luggage and on his laptop computer last August after arriving at Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., on a flight from Brazil, according to court documents.
United States Attorney Chuck Rosenberg said, "As this case demonstrates, individuals who exploit our children come from all walks of life. We will continue to be vigilant in protecting those who cannot protect themselves."
Ward pleaded guilty to charges of producing child pornography for the purposes of importing it to the United States, on Feb. 20 of this year. In addition to his prison sentence, Ward will also serve three years of supervised release and pay a fine of $17,500. He has been in federal custody since his arrest last year.
At the time of his arrest, Ward was a professor emeritus of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania's renowned Wharton School of Business.
An affidavit in support of a criminal complaint filed last summer in federal court in Alexandria stated Ward's luggage was flagged for a more thorough inspection for possible child pornography after a customs officer noticed Ward's "excessive" trips to Thailand, a "well know [sic] destination for people having sex with minors."
Federal agents recovered at least three DVDs in which Ward appears to be "engaging in sexual contact" with children, the affidavit reads. A video of children as young as 8 engaged in sexual activity was also found on Ward's laptop computer.
Ward's resume says he had been a visiting professor at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. Federal officials believe Thailand to be a well-known destination for "sex tourists," who travel there to exploit minors. Wharton's Web site also listed pro bono consulting work in Brazil as one of Ward's projects.
According to published reports, in 1999, Ward was fined $2,500 and sentenced to five years probation on charges of attempting to promote prostitution and corrupt minors. In that case, he entered a plea that allowed him to acknowledge that there was sufficient evidence to convict him, without admitting guilt on those charges.
Ward's resume lists several government consulting assignments, including work with the executive office of the president, the Federal Communications Commission, Department of Commerce and the special action office for drug abuse prevention. Many of his published works deal with the effects of television advertising and marketing on children and adolescents.
According to his biography, Ward had been a marketing consultant to many top companies and lists IBM, Microsoft, General Motors, Home Depot, Exxon, Citibank and Johnson & Johnson among his clients. During the 1980s, he hosted a television program, "The Wharton Business Report," on the now-defunct Financial News Network. Ward's biography also states that he was chairman of a foundation that served disadvantaged children with learning disabilities.