Associated Press
LEWES, Del. — For years, Brandy Little worked as a nurse for the Delaware pediatrician accused of molesting more than 100 of his young patients. Dr. Earl Bradley treated two of her children, his four kids sometimes baby-sat hers, and her oldest daughter even spent the night at his house.
Now the mother of three — along with thousands of other parents whose kids were treated by the quiet, disheveled doctor — has been asked to provide photos of her children to see if they match images on 13 hours of video that prosecutors say Bradley took to document his alleged crimes.
But Little and other parents aren’t sure they want to know.
“If something had happened, it hasn’t affected them in any way,” Little said of her oldest daughters, now 11 and 16, who have told her nothing happened. “I don’t know what I’m going to gain from knowing that he had done something to one of my kids.”
In the days since Bradley was indicted on hundreds of separate sexual abuse charges, the scandal has created a wrenching dilemma that has pitted some spouses against each other, parents against grandparents. Guilt over leaving children alone with Bradley lurks in the background for some.
Bradley, 56, is being held in lieu of $2.9 million bail and is charged with 471 separate crimes. If convicted, he could become one of the most notorious pedophiles in the nation’s history. His attorney has indicated that the criminal case could center on Bradley’s mental health.
The allegations have devastated the small coastal community of Lewes, where he practiced. For some families, the victim identification process has confirmed their worst fears. Others are anxiously waiting.
Dr. Eli Newberger, a professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, said deciding whether to cooperate in the identification process is a complicated issue for parents.
“The best interests of individual children are probably better served if the abuses are identified,” said Newberger, former medical director of the Child Protection Program at Children’s Hospital in Boston. “There is a reasonable likelihood for a lot of these children of having subsequent symptoms.”
At the same, Newberger said, parents are generally the best judges of their children and that deserves respect.
“If parents are not worried and say they don’t see any perturbation in their children’s behavior,” he said. “... then I think that’s probably not a sign that these particular kids are foredoomed to trouble.”
