La Plata, MD – Some of the saddest cases that play out in Charles County Circuit Court often have to do with child sexual abuse, and when the alleged abuse occurs within a family unit, it often fractures relationships.

That’s what happened Wednesday, April 20 when Richard Allen Bradshaw, 46 of Cobb Island, was sentenced by Judge H. James West to 18 months in the Charles County Detention Center for a third-degree sex offense.

As the defendant was being led out of the courtroom in handcuffs, a family member said, “See you later, liar,” to the victim, now a teenager.

“Keep walking out of the courtroom, ma’am,” the court officer told her.

Once out in the hallway, she yelled out again, “See you later, liar,” to the girl, who by now was in tears.

“Ma’am, one more word and you’re going to be in handcuffs,” the deputy told her.

The episode demonstrated the divisiveness such cases often cause.

According to Charles County Assistant State’s Attorney Sarah K. Freeman, the abuse began when the girl was 12 and continued until she was 15.

Although Bradshaw denied to the court that the alleged abuse took place, Freeman said the defendant sent 1,249 text messages to the victim since 2010 when it began.

“Three pictures on the cell phone confirmed the victim’s timeline,” Freeman said. “Mr. Bradshaw has been identified in the pictures performing oral sex on her.”

Freeman read some of the text messages in which Bradshaw told the victim, “I love you,” where he “threatened to put a bullet in my brain to end the pain,” and other graphic and sexual comments.

“He preyed upon her,” she said. “The victim attempted suicide at one point. Some of his family members said this was all her fault.”

Although he denied the allegations, Bradshaw accepted the state’s plea offer.

“The state has given Mr. Bradshaw all the breaks he should ever get,” Freeman stressed, arguing against granting work release to the defendant.

Bradshaw’s attorney, John Ray, told the court Bradshaw has been married 22 years and has a 16-year-old son.

“That the family members are saying negative things, I never heard that,” Ray said.

He heard it when proceedings were over, however.

Ray said that work release was “critical” to his client, who needed to work to continue supporting his family, and would also be beneficial to the victim, whose family has filed a civil law suit against Bradshaw.

West wasn’t buying it.

“It happens all the time,” the judge said. “Someone with a good record commits an offense, [he or she] asks for specific things. You deny it happened as alleged.”

West noted that a defendant recently received 20 years in the Maryland Department of Corrections for a similar offense.

“You could have gotten significant jail time,” he told Bradshaw.

As it was, the judge sentenced the defendant to 10 years with all but 18 months suspended, as per the plea agreement, but denied him work release.

He added five years of supervised probation, ordered a mental health evaluation and told Bradshaw he was to register as a Tier 2 sex offender, which would keep him on the national registry for 25 years.

“You are to have no contact with the victim,” the judge said.

“I would suggest that when a young person becomes a victim, sometimes they blame themselves,” West said. “Sometimes it just helps to hear someone say, ‘I’m sorry.’ ”

After the defendant and his family were escorted from the courtroom, one member of the victim’s family told Freeman that she was “cussed out” before entering the courthouse by the woman who caused the disturbance in court.

Freeman had court officers escort the victim and her family out of the courthouse so they would not be accosted again.

Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com