Bridgeport school bus driver facing child porn, indecency charges

A school bus driver caught with child pornography said he “inappropriately touched” five female students at a city camp the last two summers, Bridgeport police said Monday.

Leonard S. Bradford, 42, of Bridgeport was booked into Wise County Jail on Jan. 27 on one count of possession of child pornography. Since Friday, Bradford has also been facing five counts of indecency with a child.

His total bail amount is set at $145,000.

Bradford was fired from the Bridgeport school district Jan. 26 after a co-worker walked past Bradford’s personal computer in a work break room and “saw something that disturbed them,” Bridgeport Superintendent Eddie Bland said.

“We immediately called police,” Bland said. “[Bradford] never drove again.”

After police found “inappropriate photographs of juveniles” on Bradford’s computer, Bradford admitted that he “inappropriately touched five juvenile females” during a city-sponsored summer program.

Bradford gave police the names of the victims and told police he had driven the girls to the camp. The camp is typically for children in sixth grade and younger, Bland said.

The school district offers the use of its facilities and transportation, Bland said.

Bradford told police he inappropriately touched the children in a swimming pool at the camp, the Wise County Messenger reported, citing an arrest warrant affidavit.

Bradford admitted that swimming with the children “excited him,” the paper reported.

Bradford worked two stints as a bus driver in the Bridgeport school district: 2004 to 2008, and 2014 until he was fired last month.

“We’ve gone back and reviewed everything” about Bradford’s history with the school district, Bland said. “There was no evidence there was anything like this before, no red flag. It appears to be an isolated incident.”

All six of the charges Bradford is facing are second-degree felonies.

This story was originally published February 22, 2016 at 3:21 PM with the headline "Bridgeport school bus driver facing child porn, indecency charges."