Ex-Melbourne insurance broker boss Paul Bradley retires after caught with child abuse material

The former global insurance broker GM who dodged the slammer for sharing child abuse material on a pedo app.

Former insurance broker general manager Paul Bradley shared child abuse material via Kik Messenger.

A former general manager who quit in shame after he shared child abuse material via a messaging app known to be a hunting ground for pedophiles has avoided an immediate jail term.

Paul Bradley, 58, was sentenced in the County Court on Thursday to a 12-month suspended jail term after pleading guilty to access, possess and transmit child abuse material.

Bradley, a former state general manager of a “well-known” global insurance brokerage, was nabbed with vile child abuse material at his Lysterfield home on February 12 last year.

Joint Anti Child Exploitation Taskforce detectives investigated Bradley after receiving intel the fiend shared the abhorrent material via Kik Messenger.

Kik is a known hunting ground for digital pedophiles and a “free-for-all” for sexual predators

Bradley, who posed as female “Rach B”, transmitted lewd images and videos via “chats” with 15 other Kik users between January 26 and February 12 last year.

Some of the vile material depicted an children aged under 10 performing lewd sexual acts.

Investigators also documented Bradley’s depraved chat messages with his fellow Kik sickos.

“How about we swap, one for one UR turn,” Bradley said.

The fiend then received a vile video of a girl aged under 10 performing a sickening act.

Bradley also replied “luv it” and “sure” when another sick Kik user asked if he liked “young porn”.

He then received a video which depicted a seven-year-old girl.

“What have you got for me?,” Bradley asked another Kik user.

“I luv other young girls.”

Bradley told police he joined Kik in mid-2020 to “look for adult pornography” but admittted receiving and sharing child abuse material via the app.

Bradley, who claimed he used Kik “a couple of times a week”, told police he knew it was “illegal” and “wrong” but “liked that it was a thrill” because it was “taboo”.

The court heard Bradley, a married father of two, was a devoted “family man” but the “happy home environment” collapsed after his behaviour was exposed.

His son “can’t reconcile” with what Bradley did, the court was told.

Raphael De Vietri, for Bradley, submitted during an earlier hearing that his client retired late last year after an “accomplished” 33-year career.

Mr De Vietri said Bradley had been a “well-respected” state general manager at a global insurance firm.

The court heard Bradley, whose previous employer is unaware of the charges, believed continuing to work would be an “untenable” prospect after he fronted court.

“That is the end of his career …,” Mr De Vietri submitted.

“This is a good man who dipped into a dark place … he’s hoping never to return (to the dark place).”

Mr De Vietri made a late submission that media coverage of Bradley’s offending amounted to “extra-curricular punishment”.

Judge Kellie Blair said it was a “huge fall from grace” for Bradley.

Bradley, who was made a registered sex offender for life, must be of good behaviour for three years.

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