Justin Bradham
WABASH CO., Ill. - A judge in Wabash County has sent a serious message to child molesters there: Don't do it, or it could effectively mean the rest of your life in prison.
That's what Judge Chris Weber relayed to Justin R. Bradham yesterday at a sentencing hearing, with the help of prosecutor Cassandra Goldman, who has developed a very tough stance on such a thing in her county.
Bradham is the 22-year-old Mt. Carmel man charged earlier this year with two incidents of Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault for acts of sexual penetration with a 6-year-old and 5-year-old little girls, one dating back to a time period between December 31, 2015 and February 1, 2016; the other between October 31, 2015 and January 1, 2016 at two separate locations in Mt. Carmel.
On Tuesday (September 20), Bradham, scheduled for a pretrial conference, entered a plea to the charge of sex with the 6-year-old and in exchange for the plea, the second count of sex with a 5-year-old was dismissed.
But this was no easy plea agreement for Bradham.
The sentence imposed for the heinous act was 50 years in Illinois Department of Corrections for the Class X felony, and it doesn't appear he's getting any credit for time served (he's been held since his July 2016 arrest). He will, however, have to serve at least 85 percent of his 50-year sentence, meaning he's not going to get out of prison until early 2069 if our calculations are correct. He was also ordered to pay fines and fees of $1,927 (although how that will be collected remains to be seen).
The sentence was likely the best that could be mustered, considering that Bradham confessed to having sex with the children, and that he was capably represented by public defender Cole Shaner of Crawford County.
Bradham remains housed at Wabash County pending transfer to IDOC.
As for deterrents, we want to know YOUR opinion: is the sentence, for as strong as it is, strong enough to send a message to others who might have such sick inclinations (and apparently a bad case of arrested development) and maybe deter them? If not, what WILL?
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