'America's worst pedophile'?

Dr. Earl Bradley, a Delaware pediatrician, allegedly abused more than 100 children — here's what's known about this shocking case


Delaware pediatrician Earl Bradley — indicted this week for abusing 103 of his young patients in his office — is being called the worst pedophile in U.S. history. Horrified parents and medical professionals across the country are demanding to know how Bradley, who videotaped his sexual abuses, got away with his alleged crimes for at least a decade, despite a number of red-flags that went unheeded. (Watch a CBS report about Delaware's pediatric pedophile.) A fact sheet on the case that's shocked Delaware and the nation:

Who is Earl Bradley?
Dr. Earl Bradley, who was arrested in December, is a 56-year-old pediatrician. At present, little else is known about his private life. (Check back for details as they arrive.)

Where did he practice?
At the BayBees pediatric practice in Lewes, Delaware — an office was known for its "carnival like" decorations, including a "Disney-themed" examination room, a ferris wheel and VW beetle cars "scattered across the grounds."

Where else has he practiced?
He was previously a doctor in Pennsylvania, and also holds medical licenses in Florida and New Jersey, where local police are also conducting investigations into Bradley's past.

How many victims are there?
Bradley's initial arrest in December involved nine child patients. That count has risen to 103 victims — a figure authorities expect could go higher yet — as authorities uncovered more evidence and more victims stepped forward

When did these acts take place?
Between 1998 and 2009, but the "vast majority" took place since 2007.

Who were the victims?
The victims ranged from toddlers of just six months to 13-year-olds. All but one are female.

How was he caught?
A 2-year-old complained to her mother that Bradley had "hurt her" when he took her to a basement room in his practice during an exam, and the woman informed the police.

How did the evidence of all his victims emerge?
A subsequent police search of his properties found "more than 13 hours" of video documenting his crimes. When the Delaware Attorney General set up a helpline to encourage other victims to come forward, it was "swamped" with calls.

Were there warning signs?
Yes. Bradley was reported to the police in 2005 for "inappropriately kissing a 3-year-old patient." Dr. Bradley's office manager, his sister Linda Barnes, claims she passed on other patient complaints to The Medical Society of Delaware in 2005. Then, in 2008, three parents complained to the police of "inappropriate vaginal exams."

Why wasn't anything done?
The 2005 abuse allegation went nowhere after the Delaware Attorney General's office decided it lacked sufficient evidence to charge Bradley. The Medical Society of Delaware says it has no records of complaints made against the doctor. And the 2008 charges were dropped after an unnamed Superior Court judge declined to authorize a search warrant.

Isn't this a massive failing on the state of Delaware's part?
Beau Biden, the state's current Attorney General (and Vice-President Joe Biden's son), has ordered a "thorough examination" of the state's operations from 2005 onwards to see if anyone failed to pursue complaints against Bradley. Delaware governor Jack Markell has also ordered an independent review.

What has Bradley been charged with?
Bradley has been indicted on 471 charges of sexual crimes including rape, sexual assault, and sexual exploitation of a child. If convicted, he can expect a lifetime in jail with no possibility of parole.

Source: http://www.theweek.com/article/index/106705/Americas_worst_pedophile

Austrian police quiz 'sex captor'

Austrian police are continuing to question an elderly man who admitted holding his daughter in a cellar for 24 years and fathering her seven children.



Police said Josef Fritzl also admitted burning the body of a baby who died at the house in Amstetten, Lower Austria.

Mr Fritzl, 73, remains in custody. His daughter, now 42, and her six surviving children have been taken into care.

A lawyer for the victims said the case showed no sign of institutional failure on behalf of the Austrian authorities.

"Up until now there is no sign that there was any mistake by officials," the lawyer, Christoph Herbst, was quoted as saying by the Austrian Press Agency (APA).

"If there had been such a mistake we would obviously have to talk about it."

However, Austrian media are questioning how such grave crimes went undetected for so long.

Lured into cellar

Photos of Mr Fritzl's basement show a concealed network of tiny windowless chambers which were soundproofed.

Prosecutors say Mr Fritzl is expected to be taken into protective custody after appearing before a magistrate.


His daughter, Elisabeth, disappeared aged 18 on 28 August 1984 when, according to her testimony to police, her father lured her into the cellar, drugging and handcuffing her before locking her up.

She is reported to have been made to write a letter which made it look as if she had run away from Amstetten, a small town about 130km (80 miles) west of Vienna.

The head of the criminal affairs bureau in Lower Austria, Franz Polzer, said Mr Fritzl had admitted sexually abusing his daughter repeatedly during the time he imprisoned her.

Mr Polzer said Mr Fritzl told investigators Elisabeth had given birth to seven children, including twins in 1996, but one died shortly after being born and that he had thrown the body into an incinerator in the building.

The surviving children are now aged between five and 19 years.

Wife 'unaware'

The cellar rooms, covering an area of approximately 60 sq m (650 sq ft), were equipped for sleeping and cooking, and with sanitary facilities.

A reinforced concrete door was built into the wall that separated the "dungeon" from the house and electronically locked - the code known only to the suspect, who provided his captives with food and necessities, police said.

Pictures of Josef Fritzl's house and cellar

Three of the children were kept in the cellar with their mother and had never seen daylight, police told a news conference.

The other three children were adopted or fostered by the suspect, after he forced Elisabeth to write a letter saying she could not look after the baby, according to police.

His wife, Rosemarie, with whom he had seven of their own children, appears to have been unaware of the alleged crimes, police said.

The security chief for Lower Austria, Franz Prucher, said he had been down into the cellar where it was easy to understand how the abuse was not discovered.

"The cellar is very deep," he said. "There you can cry and nobody will hear, nobody. There you can cry as loud as you can, you can hear nothing."

The alleged abuse and Mr Fritzl's apparent double life came to light when the eldest of the children in the cellar, 19-year-old Kerstin, became seriously ill earlier this month and had to be taken to hospital.

Kerstin is said to be in a coma in hospital.

The media were told the other children who had been kept in the cellar were in surprisingly good physical health, but very pale.

The BBC's Bethany Bell says the case is reminiscent of that of Natascha Kampusch, the Austrian teenager held captive in a cellar in a house in a Vienna suburb for eight years, who ran to freedom in 2006.

Our correspondent says the people of Amstetten are in a state of shock over the events in their town, compounded by the sudden worldwide media interest.


Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7372477.stm

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Timeline: Austrian cellar case

A timeline of events in the case of a woman in Amstetten, Austria, whose father apparently confessed to holding and sexually abusing her for 24 years in his cellar, during which time she is believed to have given birth to seven of his children.

The events included are based on Austrian police statements issued after the arrest of the 73-year-old father.

28 AUGUST 1984
The suspected abductor, Josef F, allegedly lures his daughter Elisabeth into the cellar of their house, drugging and handcuffing her before locking her up.

DATE UNKNOWN
Josef and his wife Rosemarie receive a letter in Elisabeth's handwriting saying they should not try to look for her. Rosemarie is unaware of the truth, Elisabeth later tells police.

1988-89 (APPROXIMATELY)
Kerstin, the first of seven reported children, is secretly born (exact date unknown) and raised in the cellar. She is followed shortly by a brother.

1993
A baby is discovered outside the family home along with a letter from Elisabeth saying she cannot care for it. It is taken in by Josef and his wife. A second infant appears in 1994. Both are either fostered or adopted, and are raised by their grandparents.

1996
Twins are born to Elisabeth but one dies shortly after birth and is allegedly taken away and burnt by Josef. The following year, a third infant appears at the house, and is taken in like the previous two, to be raised by grandparents.

2003
A letter arrives from Elisabeth to say she had another baby in December 2002. This child is believed to have been brought up in the cellar along with Kerstin and her brother.

SATURDAY 19 APRIL 2008
Police issue an appeal to missing person Elisabeth F to contact them about her daughter Kerstin, who has been admitted to hospital in Amstetten with a serious illness.

19-26 APRIL 2008
At some point during the week, according to the police statement, Josef releases Elisabeth and the two other children from the cellar, telling his wife Rosemarie she has chosen to return home.

SATURDAY 26 APRIL 2008
Police pick up Josef and Elisabeth near the Amstetten hospital where Kerstin is being treated. Elisabeth's children are found at the house.

SUNDAY 27 APRIL 2008
Police announce the arrest of Josef on suspicion of incest and abduction. All the children are placed in care and Elisabeth is given medical and psychological treatment.

Josef gives police the code to unlock a hidden door to a basement living space made up of a network of tiny windowless chambers.

MONDAY 28 APRIL 2008
Josef confesses to imprisoning Elisabeth in a cellar for 24 years and fathering her seven children. He confirms to investigators that one of their children died in infancy and that he had taken the dead body and thrown it into an incinerator.

Police search Josef's basement. Kerstin remains in hospital, in a serious but stable condition.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7370208.stm

Chaos at polygamy custody hearing

The US judge deciding the fate of 416 children removed from a breakaway Mormon sect has struggled to control a first chaotic day of custody hearings.

Judge Barbara Walther had to suspend proceedings for an hour to allow hundreds of lawyers for the children and their parents to view evidence.

Lawyers were arguing whether the Texas case violated religious freedom rights.

Police raided the ranch last week after receiving reports that a 16-year-old girl had been sexually abused.

'Largest case'

The courtroom in San Angelo was packed with members of the Yearning for Zion religious sect, including many of the children's mothers, who wore distinctive long pastel dresses.

More than 300 lawyers crammed into additional rooms, in what is reportedly the largest child welfare case in US history.

The judge said her primary task was to establish whether the children should be returned to their parents or remain in the care of the Texan authorities.

"The court is not in the position and certainly does not intend to rule about someone's religious practices and their freedom of religion," said Judge Walther.

Detectives had raided the ranch after a 16-year-old girl called an abuse hotline saying she had been beaten and raped by her 50-year-old husband.

Church built at the FLDS's compound in Texas (2005)
Sect members believe men must have at least three wives to get to heaven

As a result of the raid, all children on the ranch aged between six months and 17 years of age were placed in emergency state custody.

Texas law states that if sexual abuse is happening in a home and a parent does not put a stop to it, then the parent can lose custody of the child.

One of the judge's tasks is to determine whether or not the ranch constitutes a "home" under state law.

In making her judgement, she may also weigh up the dangers of placing children who have grown up in such an isolated location into mainstream society.

The unprecedented size of the case is also putting pressure on the state's child services division, and if the state is granted permanent custody of the children, it will have difficulty finding foster homes for all of them.

Except for 27 adolescent boys, all of the children are being held in a domed coliseum on land used for the San Angelo state fair.

Mormon split

The Yearning for Zion ranch belongs to a breakaway Mormon sect called the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

FBI Ten Most Wanted poster for Warren Jeffs
Warren Jeffs was on the FBI's most wanted while on the run

The sect is led by polygamist Warren Jeffs, who is currently in jail as an accomplice to rape after he forced a 14-year-old girl to marry her cousin.

The self-proclaimed prophet is currently awaiting trial in Arizona on charges of being an accomplice to four counts of incest and sexual conduct with a minor stemming from two arranged marriages.

Members of the sect have denied the latest allegations of abuse.

"It's the furthest thing away from what we do here," said Dan, a sect member.

"There's nothing that's more disliked and more trained against," he added.

The 10,000-strong sect, which dominates the towns of Colorado City in Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, split from the mainstream Mormon church more than a century ago.

Members believe a man must marry at least three wives in order to ascend to heaven.

Women are meanwhile taught that their path to heaven depends on being subservient to their husband.

Polygamy is illegal in the US, but the authorities have reportedly been reluctant to confront the FLDS for fear of sparking a tragedy similar to the 1993 siege of the Branch Davidian sect in Waco, Texas, which led to the deaths of about 80 members.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7353304.stm