Today 5/31 in Lincoln County Circuit Court the Honorable Thomas O. Branford accepted a guilty plea to two counts of Sexual Abuse in the Third degree by former Newport Police Department Sergeant Bradley David Purdom. As the basis of his plea, Bradley Purdom admitted that on two separate occasions he engaged in unlawful sexual contact with a person who did not consent (a minor).
These convictions are misdemeanors, and one felony count was dismissed pursuant to negotiations. Bradley Purdom was sentenced to 36-months of supervised probation. He will need to register as a sex offender by operation of law. He will undergo a psychosexual evaluation with treatment and additional conditions to be imposed based on any evaluation recommendation. He will also surrender his law enforcement license.
In the summer of 2017, the Oregon State Police began investigating these allegations. In August 2017, the Lincoln County District Attorney, Michelle Branam, elected to use a special prosecutor to oversee the investigation and if sufficient evidence existed, any prosecution of Bradley Purdom.
The purpose of a special prosecutor is to provide an objective analysis to any investigation and criminal prosecution. Brendan Murphy, a Marion County Deputy District Attorney, was assigned as a special prosecutor, and Bradley Purdom was indicted by a Lincoln County Grand Jury in April of 2018.