A father and son from Winchester, Massachusetts, are facing serious charges related to child abuse and endangerment.
The younger man, 33-year-old Dr. Bradford Ferrick, was previously arrested on federal charges in March of 2023. Prosecutors said he had thousands of child sex abuse images and used hidden cameras, including one designed to look like a bracelet.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said Friday that Ferrick and his father, 67-year-old David Ferrick, had been indicted on state charges.
Charges against David Merrick include three counts of child pornography possession, two counts of reckless child endangerment, two counts of posing a child in the nude, two counts of conspiracy, and single counts of incest, indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, trafficking a person for sexual servitude and photographing an unsuspecting person in the nude, Campbell's office said. He was arraigned on Sept. 30.
Bradford Merrick was arraigned Oct. 17 on two counts of reckless child endangerment, two counts of posing a child in the nude, two counts of conspiracy, and single counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, trafficking a person for sexual servitude, photographing an unsuspecting person in the nude, and tampering with a record, document, or other object for use in an official proceeding. Campbell adds that he is due to be arraigned in Franklin County on additional charges of photographing an unsuspecting person in the nude.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for Massachusetts previously charged Bradford Merrick with four counts of possessing child pornography.
"It's really the silence on this issue that gives them more courage to think that they're going to get away with it," said child sex abuse advocate Adrianne Simeone.
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The executive director of the Mama Bear Effect, Simeone follows these cases closely to ensure victims are protected and empowered to speak out.
At the time of his 2023 arrest, Bradford Ferrick was a medical resident at Baystate Franklin Family Medicine in western Massachusetts. His family home in Winchester and a home he rented in Amherst were both raided by authorities after they received tips from a national clearinghouse for child sexual exploitation. Authorities found 80 devices related to child sex abuse.
"That just goes to show he's on a whole other level of depravity, that he would feel that comfortable and confident to exploit his position as a doctor," Simeone said.
She added that she is not surprised that his father has also been charged.
"Families being open about pornography and things like that, it does go from generation to generation," she said.
Court documents show Bradford Ferrick signed an agreement earlier this year never to practice medicine in Massachusetts or any other state.
Simeone says this story is just another example of how many kids may be victims and aren't speaking up. She encourages all parents to have these important conversations with their children.
Campbell's office asks anyone with information to contact detectives@winchesterpd.org.
