Bradley case considered the worst ever in healthcare
Bradley case considered the worst ever in healthcare
The case of Earl B. Bradley, MD, is so sickening that no one wants even the most remote association with it. After Bradley was arrested and convicted of abusing children, the property housing his pediatric clinic, which was the scene of the crimes, couldn't be sold even for a pittance. The city demolished it and hoped to wipe away a terrible reminder.
Bradley was sentenced on Aug. 25, 2011, to 14 life sentences without parole for 14 counts of first-degree rape. He also was sentenced to more than 160 years in prison for multiple counts of assault and sexual exploitation of a child.
Trial testimony indicates that Bradley was arrested in December 2009 after a 2-year-old girl complained to her mother that the doctor had hurt her. The girl had made an earlier complaint to her father after a previous visit.
The horrific nature of Bradley's crimes were compounded by the fact that he could have been stopped earlier. Bradley's own sister worked in his office and told police in 2005 that her brother was bipolar and taking medication from the office. She also reported that several parents had complained about Bradley inappropriately touching patients.
Two pediatricians interviewed by police in 2005 also told investigators about complaints from Bradley's former patients. Staff and colleagues expressed concern about lengthy, unnecessary vaginal exams of young patients, but an internal review by the practice determined they were acceptable.
Acting on the 2009 complaint, investigators arrested Bradley and searched his Lewes, DE, pediatric office, which was known as particularly welcoming to children because it was decorated with Disney themes and miniature amusement park rides. They seized dozens of homemade videos from an outbuilding where Bradley had lured patients with promises of treats and toys. With the tapes in evidence, Bradley waived his right to a jury trial. At a one-day bench trial in June 2011, prosecutors presented testimony from two police investigators and produced more than 13 hours of videos showing sex crimes against more than 80 victims, most of whom were toddlers.
State police detective Scott Garland described the rapes caught on video as brutal and violent. He explained how some videos showed Bradley with his hands wrapped tightly around the heads of young children, violently forcing them to perform oral sex on him and also terrorizing children by screaming at them. When Bradley was finished with the assaults, he would lift up the young victims by the head and throw them several feet onto a couch in the rear of the building, Garland testified.
The children often were nearly unconscious from the assaults. Bradley sometimes would perform "rescue breathing" and chest rubs to revive the semiconscious victims, the detective added.
In response to the Bradley case, Delaware enacted a law that requires criminal background checks of physicians every six months. The law would not have helped catch Bradley, who had no criminal background.
The case of Earl B. Bradley, MD, is so sickening that no one wants even the most remote association with it. After Bradley was arrested and convicted of abusing children, the property housing his pediatric clinic, which was the scene of the crimes, couldn't be sold even for a pittance. The city demolished it and hoped to wipe away a terrible reminder.Subscribe Now for Access
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