Sexual predator trial begins in Johnson County
By TONY RIZZO
The Kansas City Star
7-28-2003
"Thoughts lead to intentions lead to actions."
Those words of Robert A. Ward will be a key theme this week as a Johnson County jury
decides whether he should be confined as a sexual predator.
Assistant District Attorney Scott Toth quoted Ward several times during his opening
statement this afternoon.
Even though Ward has never been convicted of molesting a child, Toth told jurors that
Ward is a pedophile and a "ticking time bomb" who needs mental health treatment.
Defense attorney Bob L. Thomas told jurors that Ward, a former substitute school teacher,
has never even been accused of improperly touching a child. His most serious
transgression, Thomas said, was making "dirty phone calls."
Ward, 47, was convicted in August of making the threatening calls. He was sentenced to
six months in prison. Prosecutors filed the predator case when he was about to be
released.
The recipients of the calls were girls who participated in gymnastics and dance programs,
Toth said.
Ward attended competitions and videotaped prepubescent girls, often focusing on their
buttocks and genital areas, Toth said. Ward later admitted to police that he watched the
videos and masturbated.
The girls' names and photos often appeared in programs, and some of the girls began
receiving calls last year from a man claiming to be a newspaper reporter writing a story
about gymnastic competitions.
The first witness to testify today was a 13-year-old girl who said the man asked a few
questions about her classes before he began talking about sexually assaulting her. She
said she hung up when he said "I know who you are and I know where you live."
The mother of a 12-year-old Olathe girl also testified about how a similar call scared her
daughter so much she became physically ill about returning to gymnastics class and
eventually quit.
Police detectives, led by Shawnee Sgt. Dan Tennis, tracked the phone calls to a pay phone
near where Ward lived in Kansas City, Kan.
Tennis saw Ward using the phone and got his address from driving records. Officers then
picked up trash bags outside his house and found evidence linking him to some of the girls
who had been called.
When detectives talked to Ward, he described his own feelings about young girls as
"disgusting horrible thoughts," Toth said.
For the jury to decide Ward is a predator, Toth and Assistant District Attorney Chris
McMullin must show that he has a mental problem that makes him likely to engage in acts
of sexual violence.
They also must prove that he has difficulty in controlling his behavior.
Thomas said in his opening that Ward has been "controlling his behavior for a very long
time."
Testimony in Johnson County District Court is to continue Tuesday morning.
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Mistrial declared in sexual predator trial
By TONY RIZZO
The Kansas City Star
7-30-2003
Can a man who has never molested a child be declared a violent sexual predator?
Only eight of 12 Johnson County jurors thought so today, and a mistrial was declared in the case against former substitute school teacher Robert A. Ward.
The jurors deliberated for about seven hours before announcing that they could not reach a unanimous decision. Ward, 47, will remain in custody at the Johnson County jail pending a new trial.
"My client has always denied and continues to deny that he is a sexually violent predator," his lawyer, Bob L. Thomas, said afterward.
If committed to the predator program, Ward would be held indefinitely for care and treatment until doctors thought he no longer was a threat to the public.
Ward's only conviction was for making disturbing phone calls to area girls last year, but prosecutors alleged the calls were sexually motivated and qualified Ward for consideration as a predator.
Assistant District Attorney Scott Toth told jurors in closing arguments today that the calls were just the latest in a series of escalating actions by a man he described as a "ticking time bomb" who needed treatment.
"The whole purpose here is to prevent future harm," Toth said.
He said the young girls who received sexually explicit and threatening phone calls from Ward were victims as surely as if they had been physically molested.
The mother of one girl testified earlier in the trial that her daughter threw up at the thought of going back to gymnastics class after Ward had called her.
"Can anyone honestly say those calls were not sexually violent?" Toth asked in his closing argument. "Should the parents of our children be concerned? Absolutely."
Thomas argued that there was no evidence that Ward ever touched, stalked or enticed any child.
"We have some disgusting phone calls," Thomas said. "He was convicted and served prison time for what he did."
Thomas said prosecutors wanted to label Ward, who served six months in prison, a violent sexual predator and commit him to a mental hospital for "dirty phone calls."
Ward's fantasies about young girls may be disgusting to the average person, Thomas said, but he has always been able to control his behavior to keep from doing anything else.
"There has got to be a line in our society between violent words and violent actions," Thomas said.
Two mental health experts testified for the state and two others for Ward. They disagreed on the diagnosis of Ward as a pedophile and whether he posed a significant risk of committing sex crimes in the future.
Ward also testified and admitted that he fantasized about young girls and had a long-term attraction to gymnasts and girls wearing spandex.
But he said the calls he made were done to create shock, not for sexual gratification.
Under Kansas law, a new trial for Ward must be held within 90 days.