COLUMBIA, S.C. — A former Spring Valley High School school resource officer and Gamecocks men's basketball player was sentenced for having inappropriate relationship with a student at the school years ago.
Bradley appeared in court Tuesday where he pleaded guilty to charges of sexual battery with a student 16-17 years old and first-degree assault and battery. The judge then gave him a five-year sentence but suspended it to three years probation. Bradley will be required to register as a sex offender as part of the conditions of his sentence.
Bradley was arrested in 2019 on charges he had an inappropriate relationship with a student at the school. When the arrest happened, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said the victim was a Spring Valley High School student who was 17-years-old when the alleged incident happened in 2018. Lott said the incident did not happen at the school.
The sheriff's department said Bradley had not worked as a school resource officer almost a year prior to that arrest. Lott said he was fired on October 30, 2019, after 12 years with the sheriff's department.
The firing came after media outlets, including News19, began reporting on another Spring Valley High School student who was suing claiming Bradley had an inappropriate relationship with her. Bradley was not criminally charged in that allegation.
“Bradley’s conduct is not reflective of the honor and professionalism with which RCSD deputies perform their duties every day," said Lott in a statement following Tuesday's sentencing. "His actions betrayed my trust, and the trust of the entire Richland County community. I would have liked to see him do some jail time but I understand that the victims’ were in agreement with the plea offer, said Sheriff Lott, and no amount of jail time would fix what Bradley destroyed. I am grateful that he finally accepted responsibility for his repulsive actions. I apologize to the victims’, their families, and our community and I will do everything in my power to ensure this never happens again”.
Bradley was a former standout basketball player for the South Carolina Gamecocks who played for the team in the late 90s and early 2000s.