One of two men accused of multiple sex assaults against young and vulnerable youth in the east end of St. John’s pleaded guilty in provincial court this morning.
Eighty-two-year-old Bruce Escott slowly shuffled his way, under escort, from the holding cells to the courtroom this morning where his lawyer entered guilty pleas to seven of the 14 counts he was facing.
BREAKING || 82-year-old Bruce Escott is escorted to court where he pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting six youth. Co-accused Tony Humby has pleaded not guilty with trial set for next year. pic.twitter.com/TAlB9wq344
— VOCM News (@VOCMNEWS) November 22, 2024
The Crown withdrew the other seven in exchange for admissions of guilt to charges including sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching and sexual exploitation against a half dozen victims.
The offences date back as far as 1995.
Escott was only in court this morning long enough to formally be convicted of his charges.
His co-accused, 63-year-old Tony Humby, has pleaded not guilty to half of the 72 charges he’s facing, with a 37-day trial set for March.
The pair are said to have worked together for years from their homes in the Ann Jeannette trailer, luring and sexually assaulting vulnerable youth.
How Escott went about that will be spelled out for the first time this afternoon when the facts are read aloud in court.
At least one of Escott’s victims is expected to be there for that, in a case that’s made it to the floor of the House of Assembly, with the Opposition calling for a public inquiry into how the assaults were able to go on for so long.
Another date will then be set to hear submissions on a sentence from the Crown and defence.
