Earl Bradley

Earl Brian Bradley (born May 10, 1953) is a former pediatrician from Lewes, Delaware and convicted serial child rapist.

He graduated from the Temple University School of Medicine in 1983 and completed his pediatrics residency at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in 1986.

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.

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.

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.

Bradley was born and raised in Philadelphia.

He continued to work at Jefferson until a sudden move to Lewes, Delaware on the Delmarva Peninsula in 1995.

The move was abrupt and poorly planned, with many patients complaining that they were not even notified that appointments had been cancelled.

In Lewes, Bradley was widely regarded as eccentric.

His practice, BayBees Pediatrics, had patients from area farming and resort communities.

The medical offices, located near Lewes in unincorporated Sussex County, 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.

He owned several vehicles which were painted yellow and black with eyes and a tail to resemble bumblebees.

The oddities extended to his home, where he prominently displayed a full suit of medieval armor on his porch.

There was a second allegation in 1995.

The hospital could not verify the claim, and records remain sealed.

Bradley promptly closed his fledgling private practice and relocated with his children to Lewes, where he took a job with Beebe Medical Center.

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.

Barnes also reported that Bradley physically and emotionally abused his own son, and stole prescription antidepressants from the office.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

His attorney, Eugene Maurer, denied that Bradley was suicidal but complained that prison officials had deprived him of his prescription glasses.

He was indicted in 2010 on 471 charges of molesting, raping, and exploiting 103 child patients (102 girls and 1 boy).

Some of the victims were as young as three months old.

He was charged in April 2010 with an additional 58 offenses in relation to the abuse of 24 additional victims.

He has been described by a number of reputable news outlets and commentators as "the worst pedophile in American history."

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."

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.

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.

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.