Bruce Paddock (Photo: Los Angeles Police Department)
The brother of the gunman responsible for a mass shooting in Las Vegas earlier this month was arrested in North Hollywood Wednesday on charges related to child pornography.
Bruce Douglas Paddock, 59, the estranged brother of Stephen Paddock, was booked into the Los Angeles Police Department’s Metropolitan Detention Center with a $60,000 bail, the LAPD said in a news release. He faces 19 counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of possession of child pornography.
Paddock is accused of possessing more than 600 photos depicting children under the age of 18 engaging in or simulating sexual activity, at least 10 of which depicted children under the age of 12. The crimes against children were said to have occurred over a seven-month period in 2014. It’s unclear if authorities believe similar crimes occurred at other times. However, a photo of Paddock was shared across social media and other platforms, with detectives asking for the public’s assistance in locating any additional victims of unreported incidents.
Authorities confirmed that an investigation was launched after discovering evidence inside a Sun Valley business where Paddock had been squatting. However, after Paddock’s eviction from the business and the subsequent discovery of evidence, Paddock became a transient and could not be located at that time. According to reports from NBC News, Paddock was taken into police custody Wednesday at an assisted living facility. He was in a wheelchair at the time of his arrest.
Along with agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the arrest was made by detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department Juvenile Division, Internet Crimes Against Children Unit and investigators from Homeland Security Investigations, Child Exploitation Investigations Group.
Records indicate Paddock has a prior criminal history that includes convictions for vandalism, criminal threats, and theft.
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