Darius Bradford, a 45-year-old resident of Plano, has been sentenced to life in prison after a jury found him guilty on three counts of Burglary of a Habitation with Intent to Commit Invasive Visual Recording. District Attorney Greg Willis made the announcement, expressing the gravity of Bradford's actions and the violation of privacy suffered by 23 different women on 47 separate occasions. Bradford had surreptitiously recorded up-skirt and undressing videos by exploiting his job and manipulating the trust of his victims.
The case came to light on August 24, 2022, when Plano Police Department received a report from an apartment manager regarding a female resident who had discovered Darius Bradford, a maintenance technician, leaving his cell phone in her bathroom to record her without consent. Upon the arrival of the officers, Bradford attempted to remotely erase the evidence on his cell phone. However, law enforcement managed to recover incriminating videos showing Bradford setting up his phone in the victim's bathroom on three different occasions.
Detective Steven Sanders, leading the investigation for the Plano Police Department, uncovered additional evidence of 47 invasive videos on Bradford's cell phones. These videos exposed his practice of secretly recording numerous victims in various stores and apartment complexes within the community. Shockingly, one of the victims was revealed to be the 15-year-old daughter of an ex-girlfriend.
Bradford employed a consistent modus operandi, placing his phone in positions that would capture women undressing or discreetly positioning it to record up-skirt or up-dress footage. Further scrutiny of his criminal record revealed a prior arrest for Invasive Visual Recording at a Ross department store in Dallas County in 2008. Although initially placed on probation, Bradford was later sentenced to 30 days in county jail due to his failure to attend sex offender treatment. In 2010, he was arrested again for Invasive Visual Recording, this time at the Galleria mall, but escaped prosecution.
Burglary of a Habitation is considered a second-degree felony under the law, carrying a potential punishment range of 2 to 20 years in prison. However, when committed with the intent to commit a felony other than theft, the crime is elevated to a first-degree felony with a punishment range of 5 to 99 years or life imprisonment.
Bradford pleaded guilty to the charges and left the determination of his punishment to the jury. After carefully evaluating all the evidence and taking into account Bradford's criminal history, the jury unanimously decided on a life sentence for each charge.
The trial was presided over by Judge Richard Davis, while Assistant Criminal District Attorneys Brooke Adams and Dewey Mitchell prosecuted the case. They were assisted by District Attorney Investigator Sarah Putman and Legal Secretary Jessica Ledbetter in their pursuit of justice for the victims and the community.
