Why don’t we take sex crimes against children seriously? Perhaps just 3½ years for a lesbian in lady jail isn’t really “address(ing) teachers who prey on students”?

by

April Bradford. Photo via Kentucky Today.

We have twice previously mentioned the very lovely April Bradford. Miss Bradford sexually assaulted (at least) two female students, beginning when at least one of them was in middle school.

According to the Floyd County Chronicle, Miss Bradford was indicted on

  • KRS §530.064 First-degree unlawful transaction with a minor (class B felony), 11 counts. Under subsection (2)(b), this offense is a Class B felony if the victim is less than 16 years old;
  • KRS §510.080 Second-degree sodomy (class C felony), one count. Under subsection (1), second-degree sodomy is defined as deviate sexual intercourse with a victim who is under 14 years old, or is incapable of consent due to mental deficiency or incapacitation; and
  • KRS §510.090 Third-degree sodomy (class D felony), seven counts. Under subsection (1)(d) this is deviate sexual intercourse with a person under 18 over whom the perpetrator holds a position of authority.

There was clearly some heavy-duty plea bargaining which has occurred, because under KRS §532.060, the minimum sentence for a Class B felony is not less than ten years, and for a Class C felony, not less than five years. According to WYMT, Miss Bradford pleaded guilty to eight counts of third-degree sodomy and 11 counts of first-degree sexual abuse. Under KRS §510.110, First degree sexual abuse is a Class D felony, the sentence for which is not less than one year, nor more than five years. Miss Bradford received a medium sentence for Class D felonies, and was not convicted of the Class C or B felonies.

Perhaps the state attorney general, who was prosecuting this case, didn’t want to have to put the two known victims on the stand, a fairly reasonable thing in cases where the victims are kept anonymous, but the two victims, Jessica Hensley and Mary Prater, chose to come forward publicly, and made their statements.

Also on this topic: Robert Stacy McCain, “Let’s Talk About Things That Never Happen, According to Mainstream Media“

It may still be the case that the victims did not wish to relive their cases on the witness stand, but they did state that they wanted to have Miss Bradford serve her sentence in prison, rather than some sort of home confinement.

Miss Bradford was formally sentenced to 3½ years on Thursday, February 29th, and this time Lexington Herald-Leader reporter Valarie Honeycutt Spears did not write her story in a manner which concealed the fact that Miss Bradford’s sexual abuse was homosexual in nature, the way reporter Beth Musgrave had done on Thursday, November 30, 2023.

In addition to her prison sentence, Bradford will be a lifetime sex-offender registrant under the Kentucky sex offender registry, which includes five years of post-incarceration supervision by the Department of Corrections. A condition of the plea was a 10-year interpersonal protective order against Bradford for the benefit of the victims.

Survivor’s of Bradford’s abuse read statements at the sentencing:

“April Bradford was a terrible influence on my life and caused more damage than good,” said Mary Prater. “She deceived me, my family, our school and everyone in the community. I can stand today with my head held high knowing that God gave me and Jessica the strength to grow up and make it stop.”

Prater and Jessica Hensley recently told the Herald-Leader they are frustrated more hasn’t been done to address teachers who prey on students.

Perhaps just 3½ years for a lesbian in lady jail isn’t really “address(ing) teachers who prey on students”?

More, I have to ask: where is Miss Bradford? For someone who should already be in jail, the Kentucky Online Offender Lookup (KOOL) search function does not return any information on Miss Bradford. Was she free during the three months between her conviction on November 30, 2023 and formal sentencing, on Leapday? I would have thought that a sexual predator would have been locked up right away, but perhaps I’m mistaken.

Under Miss Bradford’s original charges, she faced a possible 265 years in prison, yet her attorney managed to negotiate it down to 3½. Simply one conviction on a Class B felony yields a maximum sentence of 20 years, which would seem to seem to be appropriate. As it is, Miss Bradford will be only 54 or 55 years old when she gets out, plenty of time left to enjoy life as best she can.

We should take sex crimes against minors much more seriously than we do.
__________________________________
Update: KOOL shows, as of 8:25 AM EST on Saturday, that Miss Bradford is incarcerated in the Floyd County Detention Center. Other information, including prospective release dates, parole eligibility, and latest possible release dates, have not been added as of this update.

Spread the love

6 thoughts on “Why don’t we take sex crimes against children seriously? Perhaps just 3½ years for a lesbian in lady jail isn’t really “address(ing) teachers who prey on students”?”

  1. I’ve seen prosecutors overcharge and threaten massive jail time in order to convince a perp to plea to lesser charges.

    The prosecutors likely didn’t really think they’d get convictions on all those heavy handed charges…and they may not have even fit the circumstances of the crimes; they are often a ploy to “encourage” a guilty plea.

    In cases like this, I’d bet both the prosecutors and the victim’s parents were eager to avoid a trial. It is the defense’s duty to try to undermine the testimony of the victims, so I’m guessing their time on the stand would not have been pleasant had it gone to trial.

    Plus you have to consider the credibility of the accusers. I don’t know if that was a factor in this case but it can be. I was actually in a jury for a dude that was accused of molesting the young son of his girlfriend. There were multiple problems with the case, but it came down to the credibility of the son and the mother. They basically didn’t have any.

    I was declared the “alternate” and released from the jury before deliberations, but it ultimately was a hung jury. Some wanted to convict just because it’s human nature to want someone to pay when accusations like that are made, but the fact is the state didn’t prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. I would have been one of the “not guilty” votes had I not been released.

    Honestly I’d say there’s a good chance the dude did it, but “a good chance” isn’t the standard and there was reasonable doubt in my mind.

    Ultimately, they tried him three times with the same result each time…hung jury – mistrial. Pretty sure they gave up after the third try.

  2. Pingback: Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup - Pirate's Cove » Pirate's Cove

  3. Pingback: All the News That’s Politically Correct – THE FIRST STREET JOURNAL.

  4. Pingback: Let’s Talk About Things That Never Happen, According to Mainstream Media – Living in Anglo-America

  6. Pingback: “Queer Advocates” Are Alarmed That Uncle Sam Isn’t Going to Pay for Their Kink Parties - AFNN

Comments are closed.