Lawsuit targets Northern California nurse practitioner accused of molesting young men

Six months after Bradley Earl Reger was arrested in Susanville amid allegations he may have molested children worldwide, more than a dozen men who say they are victims have filed suit against him, school and church organizations and others accused of failing to protect them.

The 64-page lawsuit, filed in Sacramento Superior Court on behalf of 14 “Doe” plaintiffs, says Reger, a nurse practitioner who ran ambulance companies in Lassen County, “is a serial pedophile, having been alleged to have sexually abused hundreds of minors.”

“He did so as a trusted adult, using his position as a medical treater and adult in various religious congregations, camps, coaching positions and medical facilities which permitted his access to minor boys,” the suit says.

The alleged victims ranged in age from 12 to 18, according to the suit, and were abused starting in 1998 and running through this year.

Reger, who has pleaded not guilty to federal charges, is accused of using his position as a medical professional to abuse young men under the guise of performing physicals, doing “mole inspections” or other medical procedures.

He first was investigated by Susanville police in 1986 over allegations of sexual abuse of a minor and came under suspicion several times after that.

But he was never charged until this year, and the lawsuit says the defendants “ignored and concealed the sexual abuse of plaintiffs and others by Reger” as he volunteered at church camps, churches, schools and other entities in California, Alaska and elsewhere.

Among the defendants are the owners of a Bible camp in Alaska where he volunteered, the Susanville Church of the Nazarene where he was active and Susanville physician Dr. Hal Meadows.

Meadows acted as a mentor to Reger, the suit says, and “received information of Reger’s sexual inappropriate behavior with minor children prior to the date of his arrest and failed to undertake his mandated reporter obligations and report his abuses to law enforcement or child protective services.”

Meadows and the pastor of the Nazarene church did not respond to requests for comment Monday. The pastor has previously declined to comment on the allegations about Reger.

Other organizations and individuals have said they were not aware of Reger’s activities, although some in Susanville say there had been suspicions about Reger for years.

Zack Winfrey says he met Reger through the Susanville Nazarene church and first was abused by him when he was 10. Winfrey said Monday he is one of the 14 “Doe” plaintiffs and that the suit is aimed in part at exposing the fact that Reger could have been stopped earlier.

“It’s more than just about one predator,” Winfrey said. “It’s about the entire network of people behind it who allowed it to happen.

“A few of these people could have single-handedly stopped this at any point as far back as the ’70s.”

The suit, filed by the Manly, Stewart & Finaldi law firm in Irvine and Windsor-based attorney Daniel Beck, alleges that the defendants and another 100 “Doe” defendants engaged “in a civil conspiracy with one another.”

“The conspiracy accomplished an unlawful purpose by unlawful means, including, but not limited to, promoting and assisting human trafficking and sexual abuse of minor victims, including this Plaintiffs and others,” the suit says. “The co-conspirators had a meeting of the minds relative to the conspiracy, and coverups of the conspiracy.

“(At) least one of more of the co-conspirators committed one or more unlawful overt acts to further the conspiracy.”

Reger, 67, is being held without bail at the Sacramento County Main Jail. He faces charges of engaging in illicit sexual activity abroad, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and coercion, and enticement.

A U.S. Department of Homeland Security report says Reger traveled overseas about 235 times from 2004 through 2023, and the FBI has said he may have abused hundreds of minors.

An FBI tipline for potential victims has been set up at fbi.gov/RegerVictims.

Reger’s next court appearance in Sacramento is set for Jan. 18.