Beau Biden Was A True Hero

The nation lost a great figure this past weekend when Beau Biden passed away of brain cancer. Though his political career was relatively short, Biden accomplished a ton during his two terms as the Attorney General of Delaware. Even though the road was essentially paved for him to lead an ambitious political career, Biden chose instead to carry out his important work as the attorney general. In 2010, Biden helped indict Earl Bradley, a serial pedophile and one of the worst child abusers in history. For Biden, taking down this guy was far more important than the glitz and glamor of the Senate.

After his father, Joe Biden, became vice president of the United States in 2008, Biden was primed to take over his father's seat in the Senate. However, he declined to run for the Senate in 2010 and instead ran for reelection as attorney general for a second term. The reason? He told reporters in an email:

I have a duty to fulfill as attorney general, and the immediate need to focus on a case of great consequence. And that is what I must do. Therefore I cannot and will not run for the United States Senate in 2010.

That case focused on Earl Bradley, a pediatrician who had been charged with 471 counts of molesting, raping, and exploiting more than 100 child patients, one of which was allegedly only 3 months old. Bradley has been widely considered the worst pedophile in U.S. history.

It sounds too gruesome to be true, but Bradley allegedly videotaped his abuse on the children. The investigator described footage as "one of the most violent and brutal attacks on a child of any age" in court documents.

Following Bradley's indictment, Biden issued a statement that emphasized the importance of bringing the accused to justice:

I cannot say certain things that I am feeling, and I am feeling a great deal. I am determined to see that this defendant will never, ever be in a position again to hurt another child.

And he saw to that. As a result of Biden's prosecution work, Bradley was convicted of 24 counts of rape, assault, and sexual exploitation in June 2011 and sentenced to 14 consecutive life in prison terms without the possibility of parole.

It was something that few people knew about him, but sexual abuse of minors was an extremely important cause for Biden. Last July, Biden wrote an op-ed for Wilmington newspaper The News Journal titled "Shining a Brighter Light on Child Sex Abuse in Delaware," in which he talks about the importance of doing more to stop this abuse and his work with the Darkness to Light Foundation's "Stewards of Children" program.

Biden wrote to readers:

Children cannot protect themselves, and very young children, who are often the target of predators, in many cases are unable to speak for themselves. As adults, we all have a responsibility to protect children and take action when we believe a child is being abused.

By taking down perhaps the worst pedophile in American history, he helped protect countless children.

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