Pediatrician molested more than 100 children while state medical board did nothing

Thursday, May 27, 2010 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer
Tags: pediatrician, children, health news

(NaturalNews) A Delaware pediatrician recently arrested and charged with molesting more than 100 children was the subject of complaints and investigations almost 10 years ago, but the state medical board never took action against him.

"The system failed. What I don't know, and what we must find out, is where and how," said Gov. Jack Markell.

Earl Bradley was recently arrested after a two-year-old girl told her mother that the doctor had taken her into a basement room after her medical exam and hurt her. Police have since charged him with more than 30 felonies. Prosecutors say that for almost a decade, he raped and otherwise assaulted children in the basement and exam rooms, some of them decorated with Disney themes. In some cases, they say, he videotaped the attacks.

According to pediatrician Lowell Scott, area doctors jokingly referred to Bradley as a "pedophile" due to the way he filled his office with toys and even a merry-go-round. Many of them had also received complaints from clients whose children had previously been patients of Bradley's.

Yet Scott said that no one complained because they had heard accusations but no proof.

"We all felt that he practiced differently than we did. ... None of us had any actual knowledge of him doing any potential harm," Scott said.

As early as 2005, Bradley was already the subject of a police investigation, which led him to close his office and move from Milford to Lewes. Police say they tried to file a complaint with the Board of Medical Practice at the time, but were told that only victims or parents could do so.

State law requires any law enforcement or state agency or medical professional to notify the board in writing within 30 days of coming to believe that a doctor "may be" guilty of unprofessional behavior.

Bradley's own sister and receptionist, Linda Barnes, says she complained twice to the medical board after receiving complaints from parents. The board denies ever receiving any complaints.

Sources for this story include: www.washingtonpost.com.