Del. pediatrician busted; video found (MAY BE TRIGGERING)

[Nordic]

And, I could add, there are these things called "boundaries" which once you become a parent you realize are there for a reason and are somewhat common-sensical.

The boundaries are there for a reason.

For instance, even the boundaries between myself and my stepdaughter have changed since she hit adolescence and physically developed.

You don't let your little kid go off with an adult, even the family doctor, in a case like what is described with this guy.

It's a boundary violation and should set off some red flags.

If you're an adult who is around kids a lot, you find yourself being very conscious of them and wanting to make sure nobody in your community misconstrues anything you do, so there aren't things said, or suspected, or whatever. The last thing you want is for people to think of you as "creepy" or "untrustworthy".

That's why I never quite get how these guys get away with what they do. They either are REALLY good at choosing their victims, and have a real subconscious talent for it, or else they just get away with stuff for far longer than they should.

There was a teacher in the local middleschool here, very upscale neighborhood, very conscientious parents (a lot of rich Moms with plenty of free time to help run the school and always having a hand in things) and somehow this guy, for years, was molesting sixth and seventh grade girls. He finally got busted when somebody videotaped him. He must have been quite gifted at choosing his victims.

Here's a story about it.

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/may/05 ... me-molest5

A popular 60-year-old teacher at Lincoln Middle School in Santa Monica has been arrested on suspicion of molesting four of his female students in incidents that occurred during school hours, authorities said.

In at least one case, the alleged abused continued for more than a year, according to Santa Monica police.

Thomas Arthur Beltran, a Los Angeles resident who has taught in Santa Monica for about 30 years, was taken into custody Saturday and remained jailed in lieu of $1.1 million bail, police said. He had yet to be charged by the district attorney's office.

Santa Monica police announced the arrest at a news conference Sunday, and Lt. Alex Padilla later said investigators wanted to "make sure, if we have any other victims out there, we can talk to them before we present the case to the D.A."

Some parent leaders at the school said they found the allegations difficult to believe.

"He has a stellar reputation," said one parent, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter. "He was known to have a really good character -- well-respected, a nice guy."

I remember, as a kid, we sorta know who the creepy guys were. My best friend from college, he knew of a teacher back in his hometown high school who always had kids over at his house, would serve them drinks, then hug them, touch them, etc. One night, in college, we'd been drinking and we decided to pay the guy a visit. Sure enough, there the guy was, in his house, lounging on the sofa, drinking beer with some high school kids. We hung out for a bit then left. One our way out, he patted us each on the ass. Not in a football-player way, but in a really gentle and tender sort of way. We thought it was kind of funny, in a creepy "can you believe that shit?" kind of way. I think I remember wondering why nobody had ever gone over and just kicked the guy's ass. (this was in the midwest around 1980). People knew. Nobody did anything. Why? My guess is that the kids that he had over were kids whose own parents either abused them, or ignored them, or otherwise neglected them.

[blanc]

Especially for those parents and other concerned adults having slightly self congratulatory thoughts about how such terrible events would not happen to children in their care, I'd like to mention that something is left off that list of how to 'groom'. Many predators have become adept at using memory blocking drugs (to both children and their carers), and with that techniques of ensuring that missed time isn't noticed.

[Peregrine]

Especially for those parents and other concerned adults having slightly self congratulatory thoughts about how such terrible events would not happen to children in their care

Uh, Are you insinuating that I or others are being 'slightly self congratulatory' because of how over-protective & paranoid about my kid I am? I certainly am not saying that it would never happen to my kid & I'm certainly not putting blame on folks who's children have had the horror of that happening.

I've known some excellent parents who have had the trauma of finding out that their child has been the victim of this kind of abuse & the guilt that they carry for it is awful. They feel they have failed as a parent. The unfortunate thing, I am aware, is you cannot protect your kids all the time & that predatores are quite wiley.

I'd like to mention that something is left off that list of how to 'groom'. Many predators have become adept at using memory blocking drugs (to both children and their carers), and with that techniques of ensuring that missed time isn't noticed.

Can you expound on this please? Especially the part about the parent or caregiver being drugged as well?

[blanc]

Sorry if I expressed this clumsily. So many discussions of cases peter off into what- were- the- parents-thinking-doing while this happened. There will be an explanation in each case - I'd put money on it. It pretty well always turns out that the parents did not behave with extreme or even slight lack of concern. Predators focus on how to achieve what they want case by case. I can think of several strategies this man may have used to separate the child from his or her carer for long enough, based on cases I've come across. The central problem with child abuse is that law enforcement is weak or non existent and the public is palmed off or side tracked with half truths, platitudes which seem to indicate that if they are careful and good parents their own children will be safe.

[Peregrine]

Sorry if I expressed this clumsily. So many discussions of cases peter off into what- were- the- parents-thinking-doing while this happened. There will be an explanation in each case - I'd put money on it. It pretty well always turns out that the parents did not behave with extreme or even slight lack of concern.

I was actually thinking that I hoped I did not come across sounding like someone who was criticizing the parents. I don't know what I would do if I found out my child had been victimized. I do know what her father would do, though, as he's the type that would want revenge, wether leaglly or not, ya know?

So no, I wasn't trying to put blame on the parents & there is the unfortunate fact that predators are always thinking on how to go about ensnaring their next victim.

The central problem with child abuse is that law enforcement is weak or non existent and the public is palmed off or side tracked with half truths, platitudes which seem to indicate that if they are careful and good parents their own children will be safe.

This is why I am sometimes worried & paranoid to the point where I am not sure it is healthy or not. I know in my own personal case, my mum was guilt ridden for leaving me in the situations she did, but they were such blaringly red-flag situations, I don't know how she could possibly think I would be safe.

So, I tend to go the other extreme. I've ended up quite overprotective. As is her father. But yes, regardless, there is always the chance that something could happen to our daughter. That thought absolutely sickens me. I do hope that nothing does.

And, er, I may have gone off topic a little, apologies Nathan....

[Avalon]

On the front page nathan28 showed a picture of the front of the building, with a brightly colored girl hippo being suspended upside down -- from the angle it is shot at, it looks like it's being hung at a butcher's. One of the articles said that while he molested some of the toddlers, the doctor would hold them upside down and yell at them.

I'd gone to Lewes (pronounced LEW ess) on vacation a few times in the early sixties as a kid. My mom and I were traveling in the area about 15 years ago and decided to stop in for the first time since then. Back then it had a thriving residential area around the beach, the beach being a section of the bay that was the most perfect family beach that you could ask for. It was a nice summer week day, but we had the beach to ourselves. All the houses in the area were run down, despite their beach access and water views. This when Rehoboth, a larger town up the coast, had turned into a hot vacation spot for people from Washington DC. It was sad and lonely feeling, and just really weird to find a nice beach area ignored like that.

[blanc]

Questions to be answered are 'why did it take so long to bring this man to justice', 'were there complaints which were ignored at an earlier stage' 'are there any professional standards with appropriate enforcement strategies in place which might have prevented him or others like him from being alone with children repeatedly' 'what funding arrangements are made for child treatment and do they increase vulnerability of poorer or uninsured families'

[Uncle $cam]

faux pas wrong thread...

[beeline]

Link

Posted on Mon, Apr. 19, 2010


Del. pediatrician was subject of 1996 complaint
Earl Bradley is accused of abusing 100 patients. A nurse had raised questions about his actions.

Associated Press

LEWES, Del. - A hospital has revealed that it investigated a 1996 complaint against a pediatrician now accused of molesting more than 100 patients, but the doctor was cleared of any wrongdoing.

A nurse reported in 1996 that Earl Bradley may have inappropriately touched young girls in his care.

Officials at Beebe Medical Center in Delaware said after Bradley's December arrest that they were not aware of any past problems with him. They have since acknowledged that Bradley was investigated by local police in 2005, but no charges were filed.

Officials said in a statement that they were revealing the 1996 complaint now because they could do so "without jeopardizing the criminal case."

Police and prosecutors found out about the 1996 investigation after they charged him in December.

Bradley faces 471 criminal counts including rape, sexual exploitation of a child, and continuous sexual abuse of a child. Authorities say he videotaped the assaults of his patients, including infants and toddlers, some of whom screamed or tried to get away. The recordings date to 1998.

Bradley practiced in Philadelphia until leaving for Delaware in 1995.

Jeffrey M. Fried, Beebe chief executive officer, said he regrets not being able to stop Bradley in 1996.

"Once you know what happened, you see what a diabolical person he was," Fried said. "It makes your stomach turn."

The 1996 complaint came from a nurse who worked with Bradley. She raised several concerns, chiefly about his practice of using a catheter to obtain urine samples from young girls. The nurse questioned why Bradley needed girls to undress before an exam and the way he positioned girls while he examined their genitals. She was also concerned about his kissing and hugging of patients.

The complaint eventually reached Fried, who has been Beebe's CEO since 1995. He said he considered it a "clinical" concern and not a complaint of a sexual nature.

Chase T. Brockstedt, an attorney who represents one alleged victim's family, said Beebe missed a golden opportunity to stop Bradley.

"Think of all the children who would have been spared," Brockstedt said.

Fried also told the News Journal of Wilmington that the hospital did not disclose the 1996 complaint during the 2005 investigation into allegations of patient abuse by Bradley, which ended without any charges being filed. The hospital had received a subpoena seeking any complaints and disciplinary actions against Bradley.

Bradley is being held after failing to post $4.7 million bail. A status conference in the case is scheduled for May 17.

[beeline]

Link

Posted on Fri, Aug. 26, 2011


Del. pediatrician gets life for abusing patients

RANDALL CHASE

The Associated Press

GEORGETOWN, Del. - Former Delaware pediatrician Earl Bradley will spend the rest of his life in prison for committing horrific acts of sexual abuse against scores of young patients over more than a decade, a judge ruled Friday.

Bradley, 58, showed no emotion as Judge William Carpenter Jr. sentenced him to 14 life sentences without parole for 14 counts of first-degree rape. Bradley also was sentenced to more than 160 years in prison for multiple counts of assault and sexual exploitation of a child.

Under state law, a life sentence is mandatory for a person convicted of rape against three or more separate victims.

"You will never be in a position to harm a child again," Carpenter told Bradley, saying the serial pedophile had violated the trust of his patients and their families, the morals of the southern Delaware community of Lewes, and his oath as a medical professional to do no harm to his patients.

"You have severely violated that trust, and you have shamed your profession," Carpenter told Bradley.

Before sentencing Bradley, the judge addressed the families of his victims, some of whom have struggled with broken relationships stemming from their ordeal and guilt for allowing the doctor to be alone with their children.

"You must realize that you are not at fault, and that you and your children have done nothing wrong," Carpenter said.

Some women in the courtroom wept as prosecutor Paula Ryan recounted Bradley's crimes and asked Carpenter to impose the maximum sentences, saying "every minute of every day should be as difficult as possible for Earl Bradley to endure ..."

"No amount of jail time, no punishment, will ever be sufficient enough to compensate for the damage that Earl Bradley did to these children, to their families, to the community in Lewes, to medical and health care professionals, to every single person in the state of Delaware," Ryan said.

"Earl Bradley committed unspeakable acts upon those who could not speak for themselves," she added. ".... To make indescribable and horrific matters even worse, he videotaped these incidents for his own perverse pleasure, endlessly editing and copying, permanently memorializing his attacks on these children for his own twisted collection."

Public defender Dean Johnson did not address the court, and Bradley also chose not to speak.

"It's the sentence that was expected," Johnson said afterward, adding that Bradley "is putting great stock" in the defense's appeal of a ruling by Carpenter allowing the videotapes of Bradley's sexual assaults to be admitted as evidence.

After escaping prosecution following two previous police investigations of complaints of improper contact with patients, Bradley was arrested in December 2009 after a 2-year-old girl complained to her mother after an office visit that the doctor had hurt her. The child had made a similar complaint to her father after an earlier visit.

Bradley's sister, who worked in his office, had told police in 2005 that her brother was bipolar and taking medication from the office, and 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.

Acting upon the 2009 complaint, investigators finally arrested Bradley and searched his Lewes office complex, 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.

Bradley's public defenders presented no defense at his trial, opting instead for a swift verdict so they could more quickly appeal Carpenter's decision to allow the videos as evidence. The defense contends they were improperly seized by investigators acting outside the scope of their search warrant.

Johnson said Friday that he would file notice of the appeal within days.

After Carpenter allowed the tapes into evidence, Bradley waived his right to a jury trial. At a one-day bench trial in June, prosecutors presented testimony from two police investigators and gave Carpenter more than 13 hours of videos showing sex crimes against more than 80 victims, most of whom were toddlers.

In his testimony, 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. When Bradley was finished with such 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 where investigators found the damning videos, Garland testified. Bradley sometimes would perform "rescue breathing" and chest rubs to revive the semiconscious victims, the detective added.

Attorney General Beau Biden, who cited his desire to see Bradley's prosecution through its conclusion as the reason he opted not to run for the U.S. Senate seat once held by his father, said the state had achieved its first objective of ensuring that Bradley will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Biden said the second objective is helping the families of Bradley's victims cope with what has happened to them.

"That's a job that never ends," he said.