Bridwell Sentenced on Sex Offense

DAYTON – Robert E. Bridwell, 65, of Dayton, was sentenced to 41 months in prison last week in Columbia County Superior Court after pleading guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor, a Class B felony.

Bridwell was arrested on Sept. 16, 2013, at his home in Country Village Courts after a lengthy investigation led the Columbia County Sheriff's Office to suspect he was guilty of misconduct with at least one underage female.

He was charged with 35 felonies upon his arrest, including sexual exploitation of a minor, dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct and possessing depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Bridwell's plea agreement, entered approximately six weeks ago, included the dismissal of 34 of these charges.

The sentence of nearly three and a half years is at the top of the sentencing range, according to Columbia County Prosecutor Rea Culwell. "We do believe the crimes all involved the same victim," Culwell said. "She was under 18 years of age. He photographed her engaged in sexually explicit acts, but we found no evidence that he put these photos on the Internet or gave them to anyone else."

Sex offenders are evaluated upon release from prison to determine their registration level. In addition to the legal requirement to register as a sex offender, Bridwell will be released from incarceration into community custody. The terms of his release will include that he agree to submit to a lie detector test when requested by DOC, that he not consume any alcohol, and that he have no contact with children age 17 or younger.