Former Firefighter Sentenced Eight Years for Child Pornography Offense

LEXINGTON, KY—A former Lexington firefighter was sentenced to eight years in prison today for receiving thousands of child pornography images.

Eric Bradley, 38, of Jessamine County, Ky., was sentenced for receipt of child pornography. He admitted that beginning in December of 2009, he downloaded child pornography on a computer at the fire station.

Bradley received more than 7,000 images of child pornography. Some of the child pornography images featured minors as young as 4 years old.

According to testimony during an earlier hearing, an investigator with the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office conducted an undercover investigation that identified a computer that contained files of child pornography located at a Lexington fire station.

In June of 2009, Bradley was contacted at the fire station. A brief review of Bradley’s lap top computer indicated that he had child pornography.

A forensic examination of the computer revealed numerous photographs and videos of minors engaged in sexual explicit conduct. According to court documents and the earlier hearing, Bradley admitted during an interview that he downloaded images of child pornography to his laptop computer using Limewire while working at the fire station.

Kerry B. Harvey, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Elizabeth A. Fries, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Louisville Division; Jack Conway, Kentucky Attorney General; and Ray Larson, Fayette Commonwealth Attorney, jointly made the announcement today after the sentencing.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office.

This case was brought as part of the Eastern District of Kentucky’s efforts pursuant to Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative dedicated to protecting children from online exploitation and abuse.