A former Hawthorne, New Jersey firefighter has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for hiding cameras in his bathroom to record children and then trying to meet someone he believed was a 13-year-old girl. Bradford Flaker, 43, pleaded guilty to first-degree manufacturing, distribution and possession of child sexual abuse material, along with second-degree luring, before a judge handed down the sentence this week.
The New Jersey Attorney General's Office announced the sentencing, saying Flaker used a hidden camera to record children in his bathroom and attempted to meet with a person he believed was 13 years old, according to the New Jersey Attorney General's Office. Flaker was initially charged on June 5, 2025, and was booked into the Monmouth County Jail without bond, per Daily Voice, which reported his age as 42 at the time of his arrest. He had been listed as a second lieutenant with the Hawthorne Volunteer Fire Department, which placed him on administrative leave and now lists him as no longer a member, as reported by NJ.com.
Chat Logs and a Staged Meeting in Belmar
Investigators say Flaker contacted a user he believed was a 13-year-old girl through a mobile messaging app, per the attorney general's office, but the person on the other end of the conversation was actually a New Jersey State Police undercover officer. During the exchange, Flaker said he liked young girls and planned to sexually assault the person he believed was a minor, investigators said. He arranged to meet the undercover officer at a park in Belmar and was arrested at that predetermined meeting location, according to investigators.
Chat logs reviewed by investigators also indicated that Flaker had placed hidden cameras in his bathroom to record children at his house, per the attorney general's office. A search of his devices turned up 115 video files and 12 image files containing child sexual abuse or exploitation material, the office said. Flaker admitted to the acts in court, according to officials.
Attorney General Calls Sentence a Reflection of the Crimes' Gravity
New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said Flaker secretly recorded children and shared their images with others, and that the 20-year prison term reflected the gravity of his crimes. Davenport said finding and stopping sexual predators is always a priority for her office.
Flaker's case lands amid what state officials describe as a sharp rise in child sexual abuse investigations statewide. New Jersey's Division of Criminal Justice charged 232 defendants with child sexual abuse offenses in 2020, and that number climbed to 404 arrests and charges in a more recent year — a 74% increase — according to WHYY. By the time of that report, 104 people had already been arrested and charged with related crimes in 2025, the outlet noted. The New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force received 20,578 tips about suspected offenders, and the same report found that staffing in the state's cyber unit had grown 13% since January while its human trafficking unit grew by a third.
Other New Jersey Cases Involving Firefighters and Online Predators
Flaker's case is not the only one in New Jersey this year to involve a firefighter accused of targeting children online. A 28-year-old firefighter from Middlesex County was separately charged with child exploitation after allegedly posing online as a minor, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office as reported by nj.com. In a separate case, a Newark man was sentenced to seven years in prison for possessing and distributing images of child sexual abuse, the attorney general's office said. And in federal court, a Hasbrouck Heights man pleaded guilty to accessing child sexual exploitation material involving a prepubescent minor, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Flaker's sentencing closes out a case that began with an online sting and ended with a two-decade prison term, part of a broader pattern state officials say they are working to confront with increased staffing and more tips received.
