Former Floyd County coach sentenced to over three years in prison for sex abuse of minors

A former Floyd County educator was sentenced Thursday to three-and-a-half years in prison for crimes involving the sexual assault of minors while she was their coach and teacher, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman announced.

April Bradford, 51, of Weeksbury, pleaded guilty on November 30 to eight counts of sodomy third degree and 11 counts of sex abuse first degree, a news release from Coleman said. Coleman’s office prosecuted the case.

As part of her guilty plea, Bradford admitted to sexually abusing two minors between 1997 and 2007, both of whom she held a position of authority over as their coach and teacher during the victims’ middle and high school years.

“The offenders who exploit children inflict painful damage that lasts long beyond the time of their crimes. We in law enforcement must continue adapting to protect our young people from these predators,” said Coleman.

Bradford was suspended as assistant principal of South Floyd Elementary School when the abuse allegations came to light in 2022.

In addition to her prison sentence, Bradford will be a lifetime sex-offender registrant under the Kentucky sex offender registry, which includes five years of post-incarceration supervision by the Department of Corrections. A condition of the plea was a 10-year interpersonal protective order against Bradford for the benefit of the victims.

Survivor’s of Bradford’s abuse read statements at the sentencing:

“April Bradford was a terrible influence on my life and caused more damage than good,” said Mary Prater. “She deceived me, my family, our school and everyone in the community. I can stand today with my head held high knowing that God gave me and Jessica the strength to grow up and make it stop.”

Prater and Jessica Hensley recently told the Herald-Leader they are frustrated more hasn’t been done to address teachers who prey on students.

“Ever since I realized what my interactions with April truly were, I had a burning desire to come forward. I constantly worried about the generation of girls that were following me,” said Hensley’s sentencing statement. “This legal journey has been mentally difficult, but I am grateful.”

Coleman said he was grateful to Prater and Hensley for using their “powerful stories to ensure justice was done,” according to the sentencing announcement.

A September 2022 investigation by the Herald-Leader highlighted the problem of teacher sexual misconduct in Kentucky. The newspaper obtained 194 cases of teachers who voluntarily surrendered or had their license revoked or suspended from 2016 to 2021. Of those, 118 — 61% — lost their license due to sexual misconduct.

House Bill 275 in the 2024 General Assembly, filed by House Education Committee Chairman James Tipton, R-Taylorsville, would strengthen a school’s ability to prevent child sexual abuse by adult staff. It increases reporting requirements for teachers, making it more difficult for teachers who had previously been accused of sexual misconduct to move from school to school.

Under the bill, any prior allegation of sexual misconduct would be kept in the teacher’s file unless it was proven false — then it would be removed. Teachers would also have to undergo training on appropriate boundaries between teachers and students. Both Prater and Hensley previously said the legislation is overdue.

The current bill has been approved by the Kentucky House of Representatives but has not yet been addressed in the Senate. A similar bill was proposed in 2023 but did not pass.

Staff writer Beth Musgrave contributed to this report.