SAN FRANCISCO —  Former Bay Area radio talk show host Bernie Ward admits he distributed child pornography and could face at least five years in federal prison following a plea deal.

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker agreed Thursday to hold off on accepting Ward's plea to one count of distributing child pornography until an Aug. 28 sentencing hearing. That allows Ward to avoid going to prison until then.

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The 57-year-old Ward admits he downloaded and sent pornographic images of children on the Internet in 2004. He says he was researching a book, but federal law says the intent does not matter.

Ward is a former Roman Catholic priest who hosted a shot on KGO-AM called "God Talk."
KGO fired him after the indictment was unsealed in December.