BOUNTIFUL, Utah, Aug. 7, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — A Bountiful OB/GYN — out on bail after his arrest for allegedly sending graphic images of children in adult situations — has been rearrested on additional charges.
Nathan Clark Ward, 55, was rebooked into the Davis County Jail on Friday, and has now been charged in 2nd District Court with:
- One count of sodomy upon a child, a first-degree felony
- One count of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony
- One count of forcible sodomy, a first-degree felony, and
- Two counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony.
Those charges are in addition to the charges filed in his July 19 arrest: Six counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony.
Ward, who was out on a $10,000 bond, is now being held without bail.
His July arrest came after a tip from Yahoo, which notified authorities about child pornography being uploaded on the web. Utah’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force then conducted its own eight-month investigation before Ward’s arrest.
The uploaded pictures reportedly show children and adults in sexually suggestive poses and/or engaging in sexual activities.
Investigators believe the photos were uploaded to a Yahoo messenger account Ward initially denied was his, but which Utah authorities later learned contained his name, his birthday, his former address in Idaho, photos of family members, and a “selfie.”
The account also had instant messages of a sexually explicit nature, and connections to a Craigslist ad seeking sexual encounters. One message contained a phone number connected to Bountiful’s Lakeview Clinic, where Ward worked on contract as an OB-GYN.
Additional emails alluded to Ward having had sex with a 15-year-old girl he allegedly got drunk on vodka, and with a 13-year-old girl, the first probable cause statement says.
After his arrest, the Lakeview Clinic removed its biography of Ward, which said he was a staff physician in the Air Force for 13 years, and called him a specialist in women’s healthcare, adding, “Dr. Ward is able to treat high risk pregnancies, infertility and all types of gynecological problems.”
