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Bruce Paddock, Brother Of Las Vegas Mass Shooter, Arrested On Child Pornography Charges

By Patricia Ramirez
Published on: 10:41 PST, Oct 25, 2017

Bruce Paddock, the 59-year-old brother of Las Vegas mass shooter Stephen Paddock, was arrested Wednesday morning on an array of child pornography-related charges. As Fox News reports, Paddock was taken into custody without incident by the Los Angeles Police Department from his home at a North Hollywood assisted living facility. The younger brother of the man behind the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history was reportedly in a wheelchair when he was taken away by officers.

The investigation into Bruce Paddock and his alleged proclivity for child pornography began months before the deadly October 1 Las Vegas mass shooting that left 58 dead and hundreds more injured. Per police reports, authorities were focused on images allegedly possessed and/or exchanged between January and August of 2014 after evidence of his illegal activities was reportedly found at a Sun Valley business where Paddock had been squatting. Because Paddock was transient at the time, investigators were unable to locate and charge him.

“Paddock had been squatting inside the business, and after his eviction the evidence was discovered.”

According to a criminal complaint in the case against Paddock, he stands accused of possessing and/or sharing over 600 child pornography images during that time period. As USA Today reports, at least 10 of those photos/videos allegedly featured child victims under the age of 12.

Recently, the LAPD received another tip, anonymously alerting them to Bruce Paddock’s current place of residence, a West Hollywood assisted living facility, from which he was arrested in the early morning hours of October 25. The brother of the Las Vegas shooter has been charged with 19 counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of possession of child pornography. He remains behind bars at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Metropolitan Detention Center on $60,000 bail.

Investigators alerted the public to the arrest of Bruce Paddock via an official statement and tweet. In their social media announcement, the Los Angeles Police department put the call out for any other potential victims of Paddock to come forward.

Wednesday’s arrest for possession of child pornography was not Bruce Paddock’s first brush with law enforcement. According to criminal records, the younger brother of the Las Vegas mass shooter has been convicted in the past for making criminal threats, theft, and vandalism. Benjamin Paddock, the father of both Bruce and Stephen Paddock, had a criminal record that included spending time on the 1968 FBI’s 10 most-wanted fugitives list. The elder Paddock caught the eye of the FBI after breaking out of federal prison in Texas in 1968; he had been doing time for bank robbery.

Benjamin Paddock was ultimately recaptured in 1978 to finish out his prison sentence. He died in 1998.

Following the October 1 Las Vegas mass shooting, alleged shooter Stephen Paddock shot and killed himself before police broke into his 32nd-floor hotel room. Authorities have yet to discover/publicly cite a motive for the deadly attack. In the days that followed the Las Vegas violence, the shooter’s brother Eric Paddock spoke to the media, expressing disbelief that 64-year-old Stephen could have carried out such a senseless attack on unsuspecting concertgoers.

“I don’t know how he could stoop to this low point, hurting someone else. He killed a bunch of people and then killed himself so he didn’t have to face whatever it was.”

Brother Bruce Paddock, however, has remained silent and out of the public eye since the Las Vegas shooting rampage. Bruce is not considered a suspect or person of interest in the Las Vegas shooting, and it is unclear if he has obtained legal counsel with regard to the child pornography charges he is now facing.

[Featured Image by Los Angeles Police Department]

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