Earl Bradley Explained

Earl Bradley
Birth Name:Earl Brian Bradley
Birth Date:10 May 1953
Birth Place:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Charge:Child sexual abuse (x529)
Conviction:June 23, 2011:
Conviction Penalty:14 consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus 165 years
Conviction Status:Incarcerated at the Cheshire Correctional Institution in Cheshire, Connecticut
Occupation:Pediatrician (former)
Victims:≥127 children
(1,400 families alleged abuse civilly)
Beginyear:1995
Endyear:2009
States:Delaware and Pennsylvania
Motive:Sexual gratification
Apprehended:December 18, 2009

Earl Brian Bradley (born May 10, 1953)[1] is a former pediatrician from Lewes, Delaware and convicted serial child rapist. He was indicted in 2010 on 471 charges of molesting, raping, and exploiting 103 child patients (102 girls and 1 boy).[2] Some of the victims were as young as three months old.[3] [4] [5] He was charged in April 2010 with an additional 58 offenses in relation to the abuse of 24 additional victims.[6] He has been described by a number of reputable news outlets and commentators as "the worst pedophile in American history."[7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] Dr. Eli Newberger, a professor at Harvard Medical School and a pediatrician who has studied child abuse cases for almost 40 years, said Bradley's was "the worst pediatrician abuse case I've ever heard of."[13] Bradley had access to an estimated 7,000 pediatric patients. According to a personal injury law firm in Baltimore, one of many representing class action plaintiffs, 1,400 families in the class action alleged abuse. Bradley was ultimately found guilty on all consolidated charges brought and was sentenced to 14 consecutive terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole plus 165 years in prison on June 26, 2011. His conviction was affirmed by the Delaware Supreme Court on September 6, 2012.[14] In the wake of his arrest, it emerged that he had faced accusations of child abuse as early as 1995 in both Delaware and Pennsylvania.

Life and reputation

Bradley was born and raised in Philadelphia. He graduated from the Temple University School of Medicine in 1983 and completed his pediatrics residency at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in 1986.[15] Around 1984, he began working at Frankford-Torresdale hospital on Knights Road in Northeast Philadelphia. He opened his own practice in a small complex just a few blocks away, at Academy and Red Lion Roads in Morrell Park.[16] He continued to work at Jefferson until a sudden move to Lewes, Delaware on the Delmarva Peninsula in 1995.[17] The move was abrupt and poorly planned, with many patients complaining that they were not even notified that appointments had been cancelled.[16]

In Lewes, Bradley was widely regarded as eccentric.[18] His practice, BayBees Pediatrics, had patients from area farming and resort communities.[19] The medical offices, located near Lewes in unincorporated Sussex County,[20] were ostentatiously decorated with carnival rides and other child-friendly decorations, such as a giant statue of Buzz Lightyear from Disney's Toy Story and a small movie theatre showing Disney movies.[21] He owned several vehicles which were painted yellow and black with eyes and a tail to resemble bumblebees.[22] The oddities extended to his home, where he prominently displayed a full suit of medieval armor on his porch.[23]

Accusations of child abuse

The first known allegations of inappropriate conduct by Bradley came in 1994 when Thomas Jefferson University Hospital investigated a patient's complaint of sexual misconduct.[24] There was a second allegation in 1995.[25] The hospital could not verify the claim, and records remain sealed.[24] Bradley promptly closed his fledgling private practice and relocated with his children to Lewes, where he took a job with Beebe Medical Center.[17]

In 2004, Bradley's sister Lynda Barnes, who had served as an office manager at his medical office, alerted the state medical society that parents had complained to her about inappropriate touching by Bradley.[26] Barnes also reported that Bradley physically and emotionally abused his own son, and stole prescription antidepressants from the office.[27]

Allegations were made again in 2005. Police records show that a nurse reported that he videotaped kids playing and other doctors reported complaints about long and unnecessary vaginal exams.[25] When police in Milford, Delaware sought a warrant to arrest him for inappropriately touching a child patient, the Attorney General's office concluded at the time that there was insufficient evidence to warrant prosecution.[27]

On December 16, 2009, following a year-long investigation and complaints of inappropriate touching by a two-year-old patient, Bradley was arrested and charged with nine counts, including a felony charge for a fourth degree rape of a two-year-old patient.[28] Soon after, relying on more than 13 hours of videotaped rapes and molestations discovered by police in Bradley's home and office, additional warrants were issued. These included felony warrants for several counts of child exploitation and first-degree rape.[29]

Arrest, indictment, and conviction

Bradley surrendered to authorities on December 18, 2009. His bail was set at $2.9 million cash, which was not posted. An initial preliminary hearing was delayed after prison officials placed Bradley on suicide watch.[30] His attorney, Eugene Maurer, denied that Bradley was suicidal but complained that prison officials had deprived him of his prescription glasses.[31]

In February 2010, a grand jury sitting for the Delaware Superior Court indicted Bradley on 471 charges, including counts of rape and exploitation. 103 victims were identified in the indictment, though the Attorney General indicated that they expected to identify even more victims.[3] The indictment included allegations that Bradley had forced children as young as three months old to engage in intercourse and oral sex.[32] It also revealed that Bradley had videotaped sexual assaults during which his victims "appeared to lose consciousness" from Bradley choking them by forcing oral sex on his child victims. The videos also show children in diapers screaming as they attempted to escape from Bradley before he raped them in an outbuilding on the property.[33] [34]

Though his private lawyers quit after Delaware took steps to freeze his assets, Bradley was afforded a public defender and arraigned on March 24, 2010. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. A follow-up hearing was scheduled for May 17.[35]

The Delaware Board of Medical Practice suspended Bradley's license permanently on February 19, 2010.[36] Delaware governor Jack Markell, concerned about failures in the medical, police and legal communities that allowed Bradley's crimes to continue for more than a decade, has called for an independent review. Widener University Law School Dean Linda Ammons was appointed to head up that review.

Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, son of then Vice President Joe Biden, announced in a January 2010 speech that he would not seek election to his father's former seat in the United States Senate because he felt it was more important to fully pursue Bradley's prosecution.[37] Bradley's case was moved to New Castle County from Sussex County because of concerns about getting an impartial jury in Sussex County, as many families of his 127 alleged victims lived there. However, Bradley then waived his right to a jury trial, opting instead for a bench trial. The case was then moved back to Sussex County. After hearing evidence on June 7, 2011, Judge William C. Carpenter, the presiding Judge in Bradley's bench trial, stated he would issue his verdict at a later date.[38]

On June 23, 2011, Bradley was convicted on all 24 counts on a consolidated indictment (which originally contained 529 counts): 14 counts of rape, seven counts of assault, and three counts of sexual exploitation of a child.[39] On August 26, 2011, Judge Carpenter sentenced Bradley to the maximum sentence of 14 consecutive terms of life in prison plus a further 165 years in prison without parole. Under Delaware law, anyone convicted of raping three separate persons automatically receives life without parole. Judge Carpenter said that Bradley "betrayed his patients' trust and disgraced the medical profession", and that "you will never be in a position to harm a child again".[40]

Bradley appealed to the Delaware Supreme Court, claiming that the original search warrant was not specific enough about where the evidence would be located, and that the police exceeded the limits of the warrant without probable cause. The Delaware Supreme Court unanimously affirmed Bradley's convictions on September 6, 2012.[14]

The office complex housing his former practice was demolished on October 10, 2011.[41] The former site of the office building is now home to Herbalife store Turtley Awesome Nutrition. Earlier, state police confiscated the contents of Bradley's storage locker in Rehoboth Beach and destroyed them; the items were to be auctioned off to satisfy unpaid rent, but Biden intervened on behalf of the victims to buy them for a symbolic $1 so as not to take the chance of them ever being used again.[42]

Bradley was held in the Special Housing Unit (SHU) of the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in New Castle County until 2016, when Delaware authorities announced they would move him to an out-of-state prison because many of his victims and/or state residents otherwise affected by his actions either worked in or were incarcerated in Delaware prisons.[43] Connecticut authorities revealed that Bradley was moved to the Cheshire Correctional Institution in Cheshire, Connecticut. [44]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Earl Bradley . Cape Gazette . December 18, 2009 . July 29, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101207034428/http://capegazette.com/zpdfs/bradley121809.pdf . December 7, 2010 .
  2. News: Delaware pediatrician faces more sex charges . https://archive.today/20130119151527/http://articles.cnn.com/2010-04-19/justice/doctor.sex.charges_1_sexual-offenses-mental-health-indictment . dead . 2013-01-19 . CNN . 2010-04-19 .
  3. News: US Delaware Pediatrician... . The New York Times . 2017-03-01 . 2020-04-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200417051736/https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/02/23/us/AP-US-Delaware-Pediatrician.html . dead .
  4. News: Grand jury indicts Dr. Earl Bradley in sexual abuse of 103 child patients . . February 23, 2010 . July 29, 2014.
  5. 'America's worst pedophile'? . The Week . 2010-02-24 . 2010-05-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100228183152/http://www.theweek.com/article/index/106705/Americas_worst_pedophile . 2010-02-28 . dead .
  6. Web site: Ron . MacArthur . New charges filed against Earl Bradley . Cape Gazette . 2010-04-20 . 2010-05-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100526104825/http://www.capegazette.com/storiescurrent/201004/bradley-charges20.html . 2010-05-26 . dead .
  7. Web site: Prof.Helen McCaffrey . The Justice of God . Wgmd.Com . 2010-04-11 . 2010-05-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110718035513/http://www.wgmd.com/?p=2507 . 2011-07-18 . dead .
  8. 'America's worst pedophile'? . The Week . 2010-02-24 . 2010-05-18.
  9. Web site: Earl Bradley – Worst Pedophile . CALLS FOR JUSTICE . 2010-03-22 . 2010-05-18.
  10. News: Dr. Earl Bradley sex case ignites outrage . The News Journal . 2010-02-24 . 2010-05-18.
  11. Web site: Dr. Pedophile . Article.wn.com . 2010-02-27 . 2010-05-18.
  12. Web site: Details Emerge of Pediatrician Accused of Abusing Patients (Transcript) . Jane . Velez-Mitchell . CNN.com . February 24, 2010 . July 29, 2014.
  13. News: Pedophile pediatricians follow patterns . Daily Record . 2010-05-02 . 2010-05-18 .
  14. Web site: Delaware Supreme Court, Bradley v. State, Del. Supr., No. 467, 2011 . Delaware Supreme Court. September 6, 2012.
  15. Web site: Dr. Earl Bradley, Pediatrician - Doctor in Lewes, DE - Pediatrics . Vitals.com . 2010-02-22 . 2010-05-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100226084142/http://www.vitals.com/doctors/Dr_Earl_Bradley.html . 2010-02-26 . dead .
  16. Web site: Dr. Earl Bradley, Charged With Raping, Sexually Abusing Young Patients Has Ties To Philadelphia . cbs3.com . 2009-12-24 . 2010-05-18 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091228220515/http://cbs3.com/local/Dr.Earl.Bradley.2.1390288.html . December 28, 2009 .
  17. Web site: 'System failed' with pedo doc . Winnipeg Sun . 2010-01-10 . 2010-05-18.
  18. Web site: Warnings About Accused Del. Pediatrician Surface . ABC News . 2010-01-09 . 2010-05-18.
  19. Web site: Barrish . Cris . Many missed alleged horrors . https://web.archive.org/web/20150222222026/http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20100110/NEWS01/105250005/ . dead . February 22, 2015 . Delaware Online . January 10, 2010 . December 24, 2013.
  20. Web site: Superior Court of the State of Delaware: Sussex County Search Warrant . Delaware Online . https://web.archive.org/web/20131227123016/http://www.delawareonline.com/assets/pdf/BL163213827.PDF . December 27, 2013 . 18259 Coastal Highway Lewes, DE 19958 . dead . - The address is not located in the Lewes city limits, and/or was not in the city limits at the time.
  21. Web site: Mother Tells Authorities to Remove Toys from Bradley's Property . WBOC-TV 16 . 2010-02-16 . 2010-05-18 . 2010-04-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100406153228/http://www.wboc.com/Global/story.asp?S=11882094 . dead .
  22. Web site: Delaware crime: Dr. Earl Bradley's property cleaned up . March 1, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100221083016/http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20100218/NEWS01/2180333 . February 21, 2010 .
  23. Web site: The inscrutable, monstrous Dr. Bradley . Dennis . Forney . Barefootin' . 2009-12-21 . 2010-05-18.
  24. Web site: Ritter . Laura . Bradley accused of misconduct in Pennsylvania . Cape Gazette . 2009-12-24 . 2010-05-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100918220633/http://capegazette.com/storiescurrent/200912/bradley-pa22.html . 2010-09-18 . dead .
  25. Web site: Delaware Doctor . Dr. Phil.com . 2010-05-18 . 2011-07-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110717002052/http://www.drphil.com/slideshows/slideshow/5663/?id=5663&slide=2&showID=1423&preview=&versionID= . dead .
  26. Web site: ::. WMDT 47 News Delmarvas Choice .:: . Wmdt.com . 2010-05-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171018074014/http://www.wmdt.com/news-archive.aspx?item=4800 . 2017-10-18 . dead .
  27. Web site: Mavity . Ryan . Milford police investigated Bradley in 2005 . Cape Gazette . 2010-01-07 . 2010-05-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100226184927/http://www.capegazette.com/storiescurrent/201001/bradley-milford08.html . 2010-02-26 . dead .
  28. Web site: Lewes doctor released on bail . Cape Gazette . 2009-12-18 . 2016-12-08.
  29. Web site: Charges mount in Lewes pediatrician case . Cape Gazette . 2009-12-21 . 2016-12-08.
  30. Web site: Pediatrician Earl Bradley Accused of Raping Child Patients, Videotaping Acts . Emily . Friedman . ABC News . December 24, 2009 . July 29, 2014.
  31. News: Doctor waives initial hearing . The News Journal: Archives . 2010-01-15 . 2010-05-18 . Dan . Shortridge . 2012-11-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121107061203/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/delawareonline/access/1940238771.html?FMT=ABS&date=Jan+15,+2010 . dead .
  32. News: Doctor in US to go on trial for 471 charges of child rape . The Independent . 2010-02-24 . 2010-05-18 . London . Lewis . Smith.
  33. Web site: Ex-pediatrician gets 14 life sentences in sex assaults . Cris . Barrish . Azcentral.com . August 26, 2011 . July 29, 2014.
  34. News: Delaware crime: Dr. Earl Bradley sex case ignites outrage . The News Journal . 2010-02-24 . 2010-05-18.
  35. News: Carlin DeGuerin Miller . Alleged Predator Pediatrician, Earl Bradley, Pleads Not Guilty to 471 Counts of Sexual Abuse . CBS News . 2010-03-25 . 2010-05-18.
  36. Web site: Board revokes license of Dr. Earl Bradley . Newark Post . February 20, 2010 . 2010-05-18 . 2012-09-14 . https://archive.today/20120914002855/http://www.newarkpostonline.com/articles/2010/02/20/news/doc4b805ebeee4e3581333060.txt . dead .
  37. Web site: Randall Chase . Beau Biden, VP's son, won't seek US Senate seat . SignOnSanDiego.com . 2010-01-25 . 2010-05-18.
  38. News: Delaware pediatrician goes on trial for alleged sex abuse . CNN . 2011-06-07.
  39. News: Dr. Earl Bradley found guilty of raping, abusing child patients . The News Journal . June 23, 2011 . July 29, 2014.
  40. Web site: Del. pediatrician gets life for abusing patients . https://web.archive.org/web/20121105165904/https://news.yahoo.com/del-pediatrician-gets-life-abusing-patients-145713017.html . dead . November 5, 2012 . Randall . Chase . Yahoo News . August 26, 2011 . July 29, 2014.
  41. Web site: Associated Press . Bradley office complex to be demolished next month . 6abc.com . September 16, 2011 . July 29, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121011231900/http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news%2Flocal&id=8356568 . October 11, 2012 . live .
  42. Web site: Sanginiti . Terri . Delaware police destroy accused pediatrician Earl B. Bradley's toys . . 29 January 2011.
  43. News: Fisher, James. Earl Bradley moved to prison out of state. The News Journal. 2016-06-13. 2016-12-09.
  44. Web site: Revealed: Earl Bradley now incarcerated in Cheshire Connecticut. 105.9 FM. 2016-12-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20161220083404/http://www.delaware1059.com/blog/post.php?postid=700. 2016-12-20. dead.