Baltimore Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Production of Child Pornography

Baltimore, Maryland – Louis Frances Bradley, age 66, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty on March 20, 2017, to production of child pornography. Bradley has four previous state convictions on charges related to the sexual exploitation of children.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Commissioner Kevin Davis of the Baltimore Police Department.

According to his plea agreement, between 2014 and 2016, Bradley paid numerous women in the Philippines to take sexually explicit photos of prepubescent females and send the images to Bradley using social media. Bradley also paid the women to expose their genitals to Bradley using video streaming programs.

Bradley created two social media accounts and used the accounts to become “friends” with hundreds of young women who lived in the Philippines. Many of the women “friended” by Bradley had prepubescent children or access to prepubescent children. Bradley asked the women to send sexually explicit images of prepubescent females under their care in exchange for money. Bradley admitted that he sent 120 payments to at least 17 payees in the Philippines, totaling $8,291. At least six of the recipients sent Bradley images or videos of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct in exchange for the payments.

As part of his plea agreement, Bradley must continue to register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

Bradley faces a minimum sentence of 35 years and up to life in prison. U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander has scheduled sentencing for May 2, 2017 at 2:00 p.m.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "resources" tab on the left of the page.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI and Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow, who is prosecuting the federal case.