KANSAS CITY, Mo. - An Independence, Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court today for distributing child pornography over the internet.
Bradley Edward Vader, 66, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to nine years and seven months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Vader to pay a $25,000 fine.
Vader, who pleaded guilty on May 1, 2019, was actively sharing videos of child pornography over the internet through a peer-to-peer file-sharing network. Vader admitted that he had accessed Russian websites and peer-to-peer programs to acquire child pornography. He burned many of these child pornography video files to approximately 61 DVDs.
According to court documents, Vader amassed a voluminous collection of child pornography over the last decade. A search of his home yielded a computer, hard drive, jump drives, and 61 DVDs containing child pornography, some created as far back as April 2007. Of these 61 DVDs, the file lengths ranged from 53 minutes to over four hours. These files included videos of children as young as eight years old being sexually abused.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick D. Daly. It was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
