Locations
Lime Grove, Cimla, Neath, Neath Port Talbot, SA11
Description
DNA found on a schoolgirl's underwear led an outwardly respectable family man being unmasked as a "monster".
Dean Bradley's barrister said his client realises he had "stolen" his victim's innocence and is deeply ashamed of what he did.
Bradley was handed a special custodial sentence as an offender of particular concern and will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.
Carina Hughes, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that Bradley's offending came to light when the girl's mum did the washing one day and noticed a "yellow-white discharge" on a pair of her daughter's knickers. The concerned mother spoke to the primary-school aged girl who broke down and made disclosures about the defendant performing sex acts on her and showing her "sick, weird" videos of people having sex. The girl said the abuse had happened on a number of occasions.
The court heard Bradley later told someone the child was "like my little girlfriend". He then exposed his penis and threatened to cut it off with a knife.
The police were contacted and the girl's clothes were seized for forensic examination. The court heard the defendant's DNA was found on the girl's underwear.
In a statement from the girl's mother which she read to the court in person she set out the effects of the abuse on her daughter and the wider family. The mum described Bradley as a "monster of a man" who "psychologically groomed" her daughter and planned his abuse of her. She said the defendant's actions had turned her daughter's life upside down and "distorted" her understanding of adults, and she described him as "a danger to society and all children".
Dean Thomas Bradley, aged 36, of Lime Grove, Cimla, Neath, had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of assault by penetration of a child under 13 and three counts of causing a child to watch a sexual act when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has no previous convictions.
Matt Murphy, for Bradley, said the defendant's pleas meant the complainant had not had to relive what happened to her at a trial. He said his client feels a "deep sense of shame" for what he did and accepts his actions have "stolen" the girl's innocence, self-respect and self-worth.
With discounts for his guilty pleas Bradley was made the subject of a sentence of 12 years and eight months comprising 11 years and eight months in custody followed by an extended 12-month licence period. He will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life and was made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.
Speaking after the sentencing South Wales Police detective constable James Carver said: "Dean Bradley carried out a horrific attack against a defenceless child. We commend the bravery of the victim in having the courage to speak up having lived with this awful experience. We hope that they will no longer have to live in fear of Dean Bradley."