A man from O’Fallon, Missouri has been charged with child pornography for sharing nude images of an infant to join a chat group on social media that shares child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
According to a probable cause statement from the St. Charles County Police Department, the Department of Homeland Security alerted local authorities on Sept. 13, 2024 about an O’Fallon resident involved in “hands-on abuse” on the social media app Telegram.
Authorities discovered that a Telegram user posted an indecent image of a baby to gain access to a CSAM group, with a note displaying the name of the chat group.
Investigations linked various Telegram details to a phone number owned by Chad A. Bradley.
Bradley’s phone was eventually seized by authorities in Salt Lake City for evidence.
Bradley ran in front of a moving vehicle after his phone was confiscated and spent weeks in a hospital in Utah. He was brought back to St. Charles County on Oct. 21.
Bradley has been charged by the St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office with first-degree promoting child pornography, possession of child pornography (first offense), and sexual misconduct involving a child under 15 (first offense). He is currently in jail on a $100,000 cash-only bond and is scheduled for his next court appearance on Nov. 26.
