San Francisco Radio Host faces Internet Child Porn Counts

If you heard a different voice on the Sunday morning show Godtalk on San Francisco’s KGO 810 NewsTalk, then here’s the reason why!

Bernie Ward, the renowned talk show host on San Francisco’s KGO 810 NewsTalk, has been accused of being involved in federal child pornography.

In a news release issued, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division stated that the 56-year-old talk show host, who has also been a Roman Catholic priest in the past, has now been indicted with three counts of distributing and receiving child pornography.

Ward was prosecuted on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

According to his attorney Doron Weinberg, the accusations are on the basis of incidents that took place over four years back and were essentially done during the research process for a book, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.

“As everybody knows, Bernie, for over 20 years, has been a progressive, opposed to insensitive authority — he has been a champion of charities, non-profits for the homeless,” maintained Weinberg.

As per Weinberg, Ward was conducting research for a book “on hypocrisy in America” and that’s when he ended up downloading “a few images” of child pornography and “it came to the attention of the government in late 2004.”

The Justice Department proclaimed that the talk show host faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on each count, along with a $250,000 fine and a lifetime term of supervised release.

Ward hosted a nighttime, politics-focused show and a Sunday morning Godtalk show, which for the time being will be taken on by a substitute host.