During KGO-AM’s “God Talk” program Sunday, host Brian Copeland (left) said that former host Bernie Ward (right) , who is awaiting sentencing on child porn charges, was caught masturbating in the studio in 2000.

Copeland also said that he has “contacts in the Justice Department” and was aware of Ward’s indictment before it became public — and before Ward knew that others were aware of the case.

Here’s an MP3 link to the program.

Copeland said he got into a heated debate with Ward about Jack McClellan, a self-proclaimed pedophile who was taking pictures of young children on playgrounds in Southern California and posting them on pedophile Web sites. Police finally jailed McClellan when he violated a restraining order to stay away from kids.

“Bernie and I got into this massive, massive, massive screaming match (on July 29, 2007) that lasted about 20 minutes with him defending Mr. McClellan.

“What you didn’t know at the time, and what Bernie didn’t know at the time, was that during the course of this argument, I was aware that he was going to be indicted for child pornography. I have contacts in the Justice Department. I knew when he was raided.”

Copeland said that in 2000, a “young woman” employee of KGO radio, who no longer works for the station, walked in on Ward while he was pleasuring himself as he was listening to a female caller.

Copeland said the woman employee was white as a ghost when she told him what she saw whe she walked into the KGO studio.

“She goes, ‘I just walked in to hand Bernie a piece of paper and he’s masturbating while he is on the air.'”

“I said, ‘No … you must have misunderstood … you know maybe he was scratching,”

“I know what it is that I saw. His penis was in his hand. He was masturbating on the air.”

“So she agonizes for a week about what to do.” She eventually decides to talk to him and he apologizes profusely,” Copeland said.