Bernie Ward was a legislative assistant for Democrat Barbara Boxer.
A federal judge decreed a prison term of more than seven years
Thursday for Bernie Ward, whose 15-year career as a leading liberal
voice on Bay Area talk radio disintegrated when he admitted
downloading graphic images of child sex and distributing them on the
Internet.
Ward pleaded guilty in May to distributing child pornography and
admitted sending between 15 and 150 pornographic images by e-mail,
which he said were part of research for a book. At Thursday's
hearing, attended by his wife and four children, he spoke briefly,
telling the judge, "I regret my actions, the harm they caused my
family, my friends and this community." He said he takes full
responsibility for his conduct.
Ward holds a master's degree in theology and spent two years in the
priesthood before leaving to get married. He worked for three years
as a legislative assistant for then-Rep. Barbara Boxer before
joining KGO in San Francisco as a reporter in 1985. He became a
talk-show host in 1992 and held forth on news and politics for three
hours every weeknight, while discussing religious issues on Sunday
mornings.
The station, which nicknamed him the "lion of the left" for his
outspoken manner and liberal views, fired him in December after his
federal grand jury indictment was unsealed.
Ward was investigated after a woman in Oakdale (Stanislaus County)
contacted police in 2005 and said a former priest, later identified
as Ward, had been having sex chats with her by e-mail and had sent
her a photo showing child pornography.