Plano man sentenced to life in prison

Plano, Texas - The Collin County District Attorney’s Office has recently made public the life imprisonment verdict for Darius Bradford, a 45-year-old resident of Plano. Bradford, infamous for his secretive filming of unsuspecting women in 'up-skirt and undressing videos,' has now faced the repercussions of his illicit activities.

Bradford was found guilty on three counts of Burglary of a Habitation with the Intent to Commit Invasive Visual Recording, demonstrating a disturbing level of deception throughout his criminal endeavors. The initial events that led to this case originated from an incident on August 24, 2022, as detailed by the Plano Police Department.

Officers were dispatched to an apartment complex following a manager's call. A tenant had discovered Bradford, a maintenance worker at the complex, had clandestinely left his cellphone in her restroom, presumably to film her without consent.

As the police arrived on the scene, a remote deletion process had been triggered on Bradford's cellphone. Despite this hasty attempt to erase incriminating evidence, officers were successful in retrieving videos clearly showing Bradford setting up his phone inside the oblivious victim's restroom, leaving it to record private moments. Police found evidence of this occurring on three separate instances.

The investigation further unearthed an assortment of illegal videos stored on Bradford's personal devices. A shocking total of 47 invasive videos showed Bradford's systematic invasion of privacy, capturing numerous unsuspecting victims across different retail stores and apartment complexes in the area. Among those filmed was a 15-year-old girl, the daughter of Bradford's ex-partner.

Court records exposed Bradford’s dark history, marked by two prior arrests for invasive visual recording. Bradford's first encounter with the law was in 2008 at a Ross department store in Dallas County. After his refusal to attend court-ordered sex offender treatment, he served a month-long sentence in county jail. His next arrest happened in 2010, following his secret recording of a woman at the Galleria mall, although this did not result in prosecution.

Under state law, Burglary of a Habitation is classified as a second-degree felony, typically warranting a two to 20-year prison sentence. However, when such a crime is committed with intent to execute a non-theft-related felony, the charge escalates to a first-degree felony, carrying stricter punishment from five to 99 years, or potentially, a life term in prison.

By June 2023, Bradford had pleaded guilty to the burglary charges. The jury was then responsible for deciding his sentence. The Collin County District Attorney's office disclosed the jury's decision: a life sentence for each charge, effectively ending Bradford's unsettling journey.

“This perpetrator violated the privacy of 23 different women on 47 different occasions by secretly recording up-skirt and undressing videos. He used his job to gain access and his manipulative personality to gain their trust, definitely earning him a life sentence,” said Collin County DA Greg Willis after sentencing.

Content credit: Dallas Metro News, Plano Police Department, Collin County District Attorney’s Office