Bradley Willman

Bradley Willman (born 1980) is an anti-pedophile activist from Canada who engaged in private investigations using the Internet to expose pedophiles. At one time, he had unfettered access to between 2,000 and 3,000 computers that had been used to visit websites of interest to pedophiles as the result of his use of a Trojan horse. Willman's actions helped put California Superior Court judge Ronald Kline in prison for more than two years in 2007 for possession of child pornography. However, the legality of Willman's use of the Trojan horse was a basis for appeal by the judge.

Biography

Early life Willman was born in 1980 in Langley, British Columbia, Canada.

Private investigator

Willman identifies himself as a "private computer cop" and previously used the aliases "Garbie" and "Omnipotent." At some time before 2000, Willman devised a Trojan horse, a type of computer program, that he used to conduct his investigations.

The Trojan horse was posted to websites of interest to pedophiles in a way that it appeared to be a picture-file attached to a message, but was actually a program file.

Pre-Kline investigations

In March 2000, Willman helped the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with a child molestation case. Some time after August 2000, Willman anonymously provided to a private watchdog group documents related to a Kentucky state investigation of child molestation and production of child pornography. The Trojan Horse allowed Willman, who was in British Columbia, to monitor the contents of Kline's computer in California. This event drew national attention and ultimately led Kline to drop his bid for reelection as judge, largely as a result of efforts by talk radio hosts John and Ken of KFI-AM (640).

After Kline was charged in November 2001 by the United States Federal Government with possession of child pornography, a man who said the judge had molested him when he was a 14 years old a quarter-century earlier came forward and California state child molestation charges were filed against Kline as well. The state child molestation charges were dismissed in July 2003 after the legal case Stogner v. California, held that a California extension of the statute of limitations for sex-related child abuse could not be applied to previously time-barred prosecutions. However, evidence that derives from an illegal private search such as from a citizen tipster may be used in court by the government, even though the search was illegal. Specifically, the judge suppressed all evidence seized from Kline's home and his home computer, including excerpts from a computer diary about his sexual desires and more than 1,500 pornographic photos of young boys.

The admission With the 9th Circuit and United States Supreme Court actions, Willman's evidence was now back in play. In December 2005, former Orange County Superior Court Judge Ronald C. Kline pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography on his home computer, ending a four-year legal battle during which Kline was under house arrest. A trial conviction could have brought Kline a 30-year prison term, but a plea agreement limited prison time to a possible 27 to 33 months.

In June 2006, the state Commission on Judicial Performance gave Kline the most serious punishment it could give a former judge by barring him from receiving work from state courts.

In February 2007, Kline was sentenced to 27 months in prison for possessing child pornography.