How Could You? Hall of Shame-Michael Thomas Bradley UPDATED

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Burton, Michigan, foster parent Michael Thomas Bradley, 57, was arrested on April 11, 2013 with six counts of possessing child sexually abusive material. He is free on bond.

“Burton Police say two children have been removed from his home. They do not believe those kids are victims.
Lutheran Social Services of Michigan confirms Bradley has been working with its Flint location since February of 2008.

Director of Communications Amanda Holdsworth says Bradley passed intense background checks, yearly reviews, completed training and had great recommendations. He is licensed through the State of Michigan. Holdsworth said she could not comment on how many children he’s fostered throughout the years.
Burton Police Detective Shawn Duncanson said someone came into the police department Thursday to report something disturbing.
“(That person) saw some materials at this person’s house and was concerned,” Duncanson said.
Police executed a search warrant at Bradley’s Burton home that same day.  Bradley was arrested, but not in Genesee County.  We believe he works in the Lansing area and may have been arrested there.
The children removed from his home are under the age of 10, according to Holdsworth.
Police are now in the process of going through mountains of evidence.  Multiple computers and storage devices were taken from his home, according to Duncanson.
“We will take that evidence down to the prosecutor’s office where they’ll review it and I’m pretty confident more charges will come out of it,” said Duncanson.
Holdsworth said there is an investigation underway at LSSM as well. Children are not being placed in his home.”

Burton foster parent charged in child pornography case

[ABC 12 4/16/13 by Lori Dougovito]

“He is accused of harboring images of three to five boys ages 4 to 10 years old in photographs and several computers at his home.

Amanda Holdsworth, director of communications for Lutheran Service of Michigan, said Bradley had been licensed through the agency as well as the state’s Bureau of Children and Adult Licensing.

Two foster children in Bradley’s care were immediately removed from his home Thursday when the organization was notified by Burton police of the incident, she said.

Those children have been placed with other foster parents. Bradley has had other foster children, but Holdsworth said she could not release the exact number.

She noted people hoping to become foster parents in the organization go through “a pretty thorough background check,” [Oh please!] including a criminal check, provide personal and professional recommendations and perform 20 hours of state-mandated foster parent training.

Holdsworth said foster parents are required to renew their position every two years with the state, but LSSM also requires a renewal each year along with six hours of foster parent training and they are notified when any legal incident arises.

An independent investigation by the agency has begun that will include Child Protective Services, criminal investigators and LSSM staff. The organization handles up to 800 foster children at any given time.

“The average time is 45 days (for an investigation),” Holdsworth said, followed by recommendation to the state’s licensing agency. “If there is evidence to support (the claims), they would recommend to BCAL to revoke the license.”

Bradley has been released on a $25,000 cash surety bond, pending further charges. He’s been directed to have no contact with the victims or any children under 18 years of age. An 8:30 a.m. Friday, April 19 pretrial hearing has been scheduled.

Each charge Bradley faces comes with a potential punishment of four years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine. Leyton said if Bradley is found guilty, it would be up to the discretion of the judge on whether or not he served the time consecutively.

“We took a lot of computers, computer equipment through the search warrant,” said Burton Detective Shawn Duncanson, noting there were also dozen of pieces of material taken from the home.

A forensic investigator is sifting through information on “a number of computers” taken from the home, Leyton said, who expected additional action to come forth against Bradley.

“I believe there will be additional charges coming once those are reviewed,” he said, but Leyton could not provide a timeline on when more charges may come.

Holdsworth was a bit shaken by the news, stating, “We do such thorough checks and you go through everything and when a red flag hasn’t been raised, it’s scary. Our primary concern is the children.”

“To see something like this…it’s obviously a tragedy and we’re concerned for the children,” she said.”

Burton man charged with possessing child sexually abusive material served as a foster parent

[M Live 4/16/13 by Roberto Acosta]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update: “A Burton foster parent, charged in a child pornography case, is  now in jail.
Michael Bradley was arrested in court Tuesday morning after being formally  charged on new charges.
Bradley had been free on bond tied to six counts alleging he possessed child  sexually abusive material.
Those were amended, and Bradley now faces 12 charges with much stiffer  penalties. ”

Burton foster parent facing new charges, now in jail

[ABC 12 4/23/13]

“A Burton man is facing multiple charges related to child pornography.

Police say Michael Bradley has images of three to five different boys aged four to ten years old in photographs and on his computer.

The pictures, police say, were sexually abusive. Bradley is also charged with manufacturing, as well as possessing, the child pornography.

Police say that Bradley has acted as a licensed foster parent for around five years.”

Burton foster parent arrested on child pornography charges

[NBC 25 4/25/13]

“Bradley was a certified foster parent through Lutheran Social Services of Michigan and he was also licensed by the state’s Bureau of Children and Adult Licensing.

Several phone calls were made to Lutheran Social Services of Michigan and not returned.

Duncanson said Bradley was able to bond out of jail for $150,000 after the original six charges.

He said police amended those charges, adding six more charges for using a computer for child pornography and arrested Bradley April 23. “We have amended those from 4-year to 20-year felonies,” said Duncanson.

Bradley’s bond has increased to $900,000 with the new charges. He is still in jail.

Duncanson said the case is adjourned until April 30, at 1:30 p.m. for the preliminary exam.

Nicholas Robinson, a Grand Blanc-based attorney, was recently retained to defend Bradley.

“We are going to vigorously defend all the charges he is facing,” he said. “That’s all I can say.””

Burton man arrested, charged for child porn

[Burton View 4/25/13 by Tara Moreno]

Update 2:” A Burton foster parent will spend at least 15 years in prison after he was accused of sexually assaulting a 7-year-old boy he babysat.

Michael Thomas Bradley was sentenced Wednesday, April 16, by Genesee Circuit Judge Geoffrey Neithercut after he pleaded no contest to 20 charges, including multiple counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, child sexual abusive activity and using a computer to commit a crime.

Neithercut ordered Bradley to serve two consecutive seven-year, six-month- to 20-year sentences for one count of child sexual abusive activity and using a computer to commit a crime. Various, lesser sentences for the remaining crimes will be served concurrently.

“It’s a reasonable resolution to an unfortunate situation,” said Bradley’s attorney, Nicholas Robinson.

Robinson said Bradley was remorseful during the sentencing hearing.

Bradley, 58, was arrested in April 2013 after a woman contacted police after she discovered material she believed to be child pornography at Bradley’s Burton residence, according to police.

Investigators obtained a search warrant for the residence and discovered multiple images and videos of what appeared to be underage boys in sexual explicit situations, according to court records.

Testimony during a preliminary exam revealed that some of the pictures were of a 7-year-old boy that Bradley babysat.

During the preliminary exam, the boy testified he also engaged in sexual activity with Bradley.

Amanda Holdsworth, director of communications for Lutheran Service of Michigan, said Bradley had been a licensed foster parent through the agency as well as the state’s Bureau of Children and Adult Licensing.

Two foster children in Bradley’s care were immediately removed from his home April 17, 2013, when the organization was notified by Burton police of the charges, she said. ”

Burton foster dad gets prison time after sexually abusing 7-year-old boy[Mlive 4/16/14 by Gary Ridley]