In our investigation of police officers who sexually abuse kids, we kept noticing a pattern: officers trying to use their positions to intimidate witnesses, destroy evidence & evade consequences. We were still stunned by what happened in Gauley Bridge:

Step inside Maypearl, Texas, where Chief Kevin Coffey's path of destruction went far beyond the girls he preyed on. Then follow @jennabelson, Alice Li & @vanhoutenphoto to a Texas prison to get answers from Coffey himself: .

The new police chief quickly impressed the small Texas community he’d sworn to protect. He started a Christmas charity event. He checked on elderly neighbors. He seemed especially good with troubled teenagers. Then they learned who he really was: .

RT @ktumulty: Powerful journalism makes a difference: Indiana decertifies ex-cop who sexually abused a teen. It took two years and a Post i….

"Only in hindsight did I look under the hood based on what was shared with me, quite frankly, from The Washington Post reporter,” said the Secretary of Health. @kemettler with incredible impact in Maryland: .

Following our investigation, the DOJ started working on guidelines to prevent school police from sexually abusing students. They published today.

RT @MargieMasonAP: Women Behind Bars: They were locked up and given prison jobs. Then they said guards raped and threatened them to ensure….

This case made its way to a federal courtroom, where it would be up to a jury to decide who to believe: a teenage girl or the chief of police. I hope you’ll read what happened next.

After the girl’s report, Chief Larry Clay Jr. made a visit to one of his oldest friends, who was the detective in charge of child sex crimes cases in the county. “Make this go away,” Clay reportedly said.

A teen girl reported that her stepmother sold her to be raped for $100 when she was 17 years old. The buyer, she told investigators, wasn’t just anyone — it was her town’s chief of police.

RT @RobertVinluan: Hi all. I'm Robert, a lead product designer at NYT Games. My coworkers @NYTGuildTech and I are on strike for a fair cont….

RT @washingtonpost: A Washington Post investigation found that more than 200 elementary, middle and high school police officers were charge….

And big shoutout to the heart and hard work of @jennabelson @FOIANate @byHayden, Lynda Robinson, Tucker Harris, @vanhoutenphoto, @Jdharden & so many more @washingtonpost. More tk! <3.

We would never be able to do this work without these young women, who were kids when they reported being betrayed by officers sworn to protect them. They are telling their stories in hopes that next time, authorities do better. Thanks for taking the time.

And how widespread – and unaddressed – the issue of child sexual abuse by law enforcement really is: .

How prosecutors and judges allow officers who admit to child sexual abuse to avoid prison time: .

This story is the latest installment of our series, Abused by the Badge. We have explored how departments fail to take these complaints seriously: .

Tomorrow, Bradley will be sentenced. Prosecutors have offered him a deal: In exchange for a guilty plea, they will recommend Bradley receive probation and no time on the sex offender registry. It’s up to a judge whether to approve the agreement.

When Bradley was arrested, the sheriff told the public that the SRO was a “monster” “that we did not know about.” But just a few months earlier, that same sheriff said one of Bradley’s alleged victims was making up her story.

The investigation was abruptly closed. Bradley went back to patrolling schools. You can guess what happened next.