Doctor indicted in serial child abuse scandal

[meegbear]

Prosecutors expect to add more counts to a lengthy indictment against a Delaware pediatrician charged with serial molestation of 103 children as investigators urge former patients and parents to come forward.

A grand jury returned a 160-page indictment Monday against Dr. Earl Bradley of Lewes with 471 counts of sexual crimes.

The case has shocked the close-knit coastal community of Lewes and the central Delaware town of Milford, where Bradley closed an office in 2005 after police investigated him.

Bradley's attorney, Eugene Maurer, said he would seek to move the trial out of Sussex County. But he said the "real battleground" in the case will be Bradley's mental state, not what is seen on videotapes seized from Bradley's home and office or alleged in the indictment.

Announcing the grand jury's indictment, Attorney General Beau Biden said all of the alleged victims, mainly girls but including one boy, were caught on more than 13 hours of video recordings, some dating to 1998.

"The charges in this indictment are unique in the history of the state of Delaware, as far as I can tell," he said.

The charges against Bradley include rape, sexual exploitation of a child, unlawful sexual contact, continuous sexual abuse of a child, assault and reckless endangering.

Bradley, who was arrested in December and initially charged with 29 felony counts for allegedly abusing nine children, is being held with bail set at $2.9 million. His medical license was permanently revoked by the state Board of Medical Practice last week.

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http://www.salon.com/news/story/index.html?story=/news/2010/02/23/us_delaware_pediatrician_1

:grr:

[TwilightGardener]

1. I'm not blaming the parents, but stunned that they trusted this doctor

so much that they weren't present when he "examined" them. When my boys were little, I would never leave them alone, unless it was for a procedure at which I couldn't be present. No normal physician or nurse practitioner would ever insist on being alone with the child. The red flags and alarm bells should have gone up.

[FourScore]

3. He took them to an adjoining room. In some cases for only 45 seconds

The parents never thought anything nefarious was going on because he'd come back with the children so quickly.

This is so sick.

I NEVER let my children out of my sight at the doc's office. I even go with the nurse to weigh and measure them. Now I'm glad I do.

[Dappleganger]

6. We always did this too.

[lbrtbell]

5. Sorry, that's not true

As a kid, every single physician in the various states where we lived wanted to see me alone, and got madder than hell when my mother wanted to be in the room with me. They called her "overprotective", and implied that my allergies resulted from psychological problems caused by her "overprotective" attitude.

I would have loved to have a doctor who'd STFU about my mother and just prescribe me antihistamines without lectures. :(

ON EDIT: The dentists were even worse about making parents leave the room. One dentist slapped me across the face because I had the temerity to cry when I was given a shot of Novocaine.

At the time, I was 4 years old.

[Shell Beau]

8. Jeez, that is crazy. How long ago was this?

[notadmblnd]

9. My son is soon to be 17, and I still accompany him to the examing room

he's my child and I'm responsible for his safety till he's 18. When he tells me he doesn't want me there, I'll no longer accompany him.

[Lochloosa]

10. +1000

My wife still goes with her 22 year old. She asks questions that he won't/doesn't know to ask.

And he wants her there.

[Shell Beau]

11. I am 31 and would love for my mom to still accompany me to the doctor.

I just feel more at ease I guess. She doesn't go the doctor with me anymore, but she was in the delivery room when I was trying to give birth. Ended up with C-Section, but still. I remember my mom being in the room with me every time as a kid and teenager.

[Shell Beau]

2. It doesn't get much more disgusting than this.

If he is found guilty, he is a goner.

[lbrtbell]

7. I'd love to administer his punishment

Lethal injection, if at all possible. :mad:

[asjr]

4. Horrible! I would be some parents

are already building a stake in the middle of town.

[KittyWampus]

12. sorry to hear about this and hope the kids can heal. I'd imagine some parents may also

feel guilty for not catching on.

[cutlassmama]

13. What a sick SOB.

[Soylent Brice]

14. good luck guarding that sick bastard from that many angry parents. n/t