Child Abuse

February 23, 2010 permalink

In California, Steven Louis Stearns planted a cellphone where it could capture pictures of his teenaged foster daughter undressed. And in the second enclosed story from Delaware, pediatrician Dr Earl Bradley has been arrested for hundreds of sex acts against his clients.

Notice that large-scale child abuse comes not from mom and dad, but from deviants making career choices that allow them access to children in quantity.

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Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010

Empire man allegedly plants phone to capture video of naked foster daughter

Bee Staff Reports

An Empire man who allegedly planted a cellular phone in his foster daughter’s closet with the intent to capture her naked on video has been arrested, authorities said.

Steven Louis Stearns, 44, was taken into custody at his home in the 200 block of G Street on Sunday night after deputies were called by the juvenile victim about 8 p.m., according to Chief Mike Radford of the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department.

The foster daughter reportedly discovered the phone in her closet after getting dressed upon her return from a shower, Radford said.

An Empire man who allegedly planted a cellular phone in his foster daughter’s closet with the intent to capture her naked on video has been arrested, authorities said. Steven Louis Stearns, 44, was taken into custody at his home in the 200 block of G Street on Sunday night after deputies were called by the juvenile victim about 8 p.m., according to Chief Mike Radford of the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department. The foster daughter reportedly discovered the phone in her closet after getting dressed upon her return from a shower, Radford said.

(Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department)

“She was terrified because she believed she was being recorded,” Radford said.

Radford said there was video from the phone that corroborated her statement.

The victim was removed from the residence and placed in alternative care.

Also in the house were the suspect’s wife and three children. The children were placed in the custody of Child Protective Services, which then released them to the wife, Radford said.

Stearns was booked into Stanislaus County Jail on charges including annoying or molesting a child under 18 years of age and sexual exploitation of a child.

Source: Modesto Bee

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Del. doctor indicted in serial child abuse scandal

Delaware pediatrician charged with 471 sex crimes

Prosecutors expect to add more counts to a lengthy indictment against a Delaware pediatrician charged with serial molestation of more than 100 children as investigators urge former patients and parents to come forward.

By RANDALL CHASE, The Associated Press, Tuesday, February 23, 2010; 8:22 AM

DOVER, Del. -- 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.

Maurer said he had not read the indictment but was not surprised by the allegations.

"I'm sure they have their reasons for including all these different victims in this indictment," said Maurer, noting that under state law, a single conviction of rape would be enough to put Bradley behind bars for life.

The indictment alleges Bradley was videotaping his sexual exploitation of patients as far back as December 1998. Many victims were assaulted repeatedly, some on consecutive days, according to the indictment, which alleges that one girl was raped more than a dozen times over a period that lasted more than a year.

Authorities would not say whether they think Bradley had videotaped all of his alleged assaults or whether there may be more victims.

"I expect that we will add to this indictment with new charges over the coming months," Biden said.

He encouraged parents and victims of Bradley, "regardless of age or gender," to contact prosecutors, who have sent out about 3,100 letters to Bradley's patients and set up an office in Lewes to handle complaints and direct potential victims and their families to counseling and other services.

Sussex County prosecutor Paula Ryan declined to say how many alleged victims seen on videotape have been identified by name, or to provide an age range. The indictment refers to each alleged victim only as "Jane Doe" or "John Doe."

After years of suspicions among parents and questions about his strange behavior from colleagues, Bradley was arrested after a 2-year-old girl told her mother that the doctor hurt her in December when he took her to a basement room of his office after an exam.

While prosecutors allege regular and repeated abuse by Bradley, the indictment contains a gap of more than a year, from October 2004 to June 2006, in which no alleged crimes are listed.

Biden and Gov. Jack Markell have ordered reviews to determine whether doctors, hospitals, state agencies or law enforcement authorities failed to comply with a state law that requires all such entities to report to the medical licensing board in writing within 30 days if they believe a doctor is or "may be" guilty of unprofessional conduct.

Biden said Monday that those investigations are aimed at determining "how this physician could lurk in our midst for as long as he did."

Source: Washington Post