On Jan. 26, David Bradt, 25, pleaded guilty to third degree rape.
The Colonie man admitted to having sex with four under aged girls he 'friended' on Facebook.
The mother of one of Bradt's alleged victims is now giving more details about how the local man gained the trust of hundreds of teen girls on the popular social networking site.
To protect the identity of the 16-year old victim, the woman's name or face is not being revealed, but the distraught mom has some crucial advice about how to better protect your children as they surf on Facebook.
The Colonie mother says she first realized there was a problem when her only child, her 16-year-old daughter, stopped confiding in her. The girl had also started sleeping over "friends houses" much more than usual.
The mother was suspicious, so she did some digging around.
When she found vulgar messages from what appeared to be an older man sent to her daughter on Facebook, she knew something was seriously wrong.
"I wanted him away from my daughter, and now he, (pause) he's where he belongs," the mother said.
The woman is referring to Bradt. The Colonie man will now spend at least 12 years in prison for raping four underage girls he met on the popular site.
The Albany County District Attorney's office has confirmed that the woman's 16-year old daughter was in fact one of Bradt's victims.
The mom said, "He (Bradt) knew they were at that age where he could manipulate them, and tell them that their parents were bad. He definitely played with these young girls' minds."
The D.A.'s office says Bradt was able to friend so many young girls on Facebook by sending requests to every teen friend listed on the Facebook page of someone he knew.
When those girls saw that Bradt was mutual friends with dozens of other online friends of theirs, the teens reported being more inclined to accept his request, according to the Albany County District Attorney's office.
In a news release, District Attorney David Soares said, "As the relationships (with the individual girls) developed, Bradt would ask to meet the girls face to face. Bradt then supplied them with alcohol and marijuana and then engaged in sexual conduct with several girls under the age of 17."
Colonie police say when Bradt was arrested, he had more than 700 girls between the age of 15 and 20 on his list.
And that trend was something this observant mom had already noticed. The woman spent hours tracking the profiles of the unfamiliar people on her daughter's friend list - one of them was Bradt.
"I started looking on his Facebook page. It wasn't private, so I just kept looking, and I noticed I recognized a lot of the names from being my daughter's friends. Knowing I knew their parents etc, and I didn't know what to do. Should I contact the parents? Should I, you know, do something? I had no idea what to do, and I was just looking at this thing (his Facebook page) every day. I was obsessed," she said.
Bradt's Facebook page didn't list his age, and when she met him face to face he told her he was 19-years old.
Suspicious, she drove to Bradt's house and had a revealing conversation with a family member.
"I said, 'I understand that he's 19, and she's 16 it's a tough thing to deal with.' And the (other) mother says, 'What? 19? Try 24!' And I just pretty much lost it at that point," she said.
Although it took the involvement of local police and the district attorney's office, her daughter eventually broke away from Bradt.
Not long after, Bradt was arrested on four counts of rape, in part for what he did to her 16-year old girl.
"I hate to say this, but I'm glad he got what he did because he deserves it. These poor girls, they didn't know any better," she said.
The Colonie mom says even if there are roadblocks, you need to know what you're kids are up to online.
"It's tough with Facebook, because Facebook pages can be private and you can't look into your children's Facebook page. They say watch it, and keep an eye on it, but once it's private, you can't!" said the mother.
But, she says, parents still shouldn't give up.
After going through the ordeal, the mom also warns that if your kids are having a sleep over, you should take the time to make sure that's in fact where they are.
"Call the parents if you have to, and check on them, or drive over to the other girl's house that she said they're gonna be at. I know it's tough to do sometimes, but it's definitely worth it because you don't want your child to go through this," she said with a sigh.
The mom says her 16-year old daughter now actually says she's grateful that her mom helped get her away from David Bradt.
Under his plea agreement, Bradt faces 12 years of prison time, 10 years of post release supervision, and must register as a sex offender when he gets out.
He will be officially sentenced in Albany County Court on March 24.
