'Who's gonna take my word over his?' Winnipeg woman comes forward after firefighter charged with sex assault

More than a dozen people have contacted Winnipeg police about firefighter and jiu-jitsu instructor Manuel Ruizsince he was arrested last week including one who allegesshe endured years of sexual assault by the man she called "Uncle Manny."

Ruiz, 52, faces a slew of charges, including sexual assault of a child, forcible confinement and luring a child.

Three girls and young women who were 12 to 18 when they met Ruizaccusethe martial artist of incidents of sexual assault spanning the past 16 years.

Among the people who have come forward since the charges isLunaWanda Galdames. Now 43, shewas six years old when her family moved to Winnipegfrom Chile in the 1980s.

She said like other refugees at the time,her family turned tothe Chileancommunity.It's through that community connection that Galdamessaid shemet Manuel Vladimir Ruiz or "Uncle Manny," as she used to refer to him.

"He appeared to me like a father figurein the beginning and I needed that. I was always looking for positive male rolemodels,"said Galdames.

"I would see him at Chilean functions, Chilean dance groups. I was a kid so I would always call him 'tio,' which is 'uncle' in Spanish."

On Monday, Winnipeg police said theychargedRuiz withoffences they allege occurredbetween2001 and 2016 and involved three victims, twoof whom were underage.

Ruizhad previously been the subject of three failed protection order requests. The women in the requests from 2001, 2006 and 2010 said they feared for their safety, both physically and emotionally. One woman said she was scared because of Ruiz's late girlfriend's sudden death in Cuba.

The reasons for the judgments against the protection orders are unclear, butRuizdenied the allegations in each request.

Within the last year, Ruiz, a 25-year veteran of the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service,waspromoted to lieutenant in his position as a firefighter paramedic with the City of Winnipeg. City officials told CBC earlier this week that they've removedRuizfrom active duty.

Ruizis also a longtime martial arts expert who taught self-defence and other courses throughout Winnipeg and the province.Heownsa jiu-jitsustudio and had been teaching martial arts for decades, which is howhe met thevictims, police said.

One of the charges involves allegations he sexually assaulted a girl at a jiu-jitsu studio located at 80 Sherbrook St. in 2001.

During the investigation into that allegation, officers found another woman who reported being sexually assaulted by Ruiz at a different location in the city in 2005 and 2006.

A third victim, who is still under 18, said that Ruiz contacted her through an online advertisement for escort services and paid her for sex from 2015 until recently, police said.

Since releasing details of the investigation, police have received more thana dozen calls from alleged victims, witnesses and concerned parents whose children trained withRuiz. Galdames is one of them.

"It's not entirely surprising because it is a 15-year span, and I think there is going to be a lot of concern from a lot of people based on the fact that he had contact with so many people," Winnipeg police Const. Tammy Skrabek said.

"It's concerning."

Officers will speakwith all of the people and that may lead police to more victims, Skrabek said. Police expect the investigation to be a "full-time project for these officers for a while," she said.

Winnipeg woman comes forward after firefighter charged with sex assault

7 years ago

Duration 2:12

More than a dozen people have contacted Winnipeg police about firefighter and jiu-jitsu instructor Manuel Ruiz since he was arrested last week including one who alleges she endured years of sexual assault by the man she called "Uncle Manny."

'He had beengrooming me'

Galdamessaid she didn't know there were other people who were allegedly assaulted by Ruiz, and she never spoke upabout the alleged assaultsfor fear she wouldn't be believed.Hewas a firefighter and well-known member of the Chilean community, she said.

"Who's gonna take my word over his?I'm just a girl," said Galdames.

For the past 10years, she's been working with women and girls who have been sexually exploited. When she heard Ruizhad been charged, she feltshe had to call police.

"There's a part of me that feels really bad that I didn't say anything before, because a lot of people were hurt and a lot of children that I now advocate for and that I try to help," saidGaldames.

He had been grooming me from an early age on, and the inappropriate behaviour started long before I wasan adult or could think for myself.- Luna Wanda Galdames

"I thought, 'I'm always telling them that they're safe and there's places you can go,' and I wasn't doing it for myself. SoI thought, 'I'm gonna do it now. I'm gonna walk the walk.'"

Galdamesalleged the assaultsbegan with inappropriate comments in a martial arts studio when she 12 or 13. By 16, she allegedRuiz would brush up against her breast or slapher behind. She allegedinher early 20s, she was forced to have non-consensual sex with him.

"In my case, he had been grooming me from an early age on, and the inappropriate behaviour started long before I wasan adult or could think for myself," said Galdames.

"I didn't feel I had anyone to speak up to. It's a very taboo subject in my community and being alone, I didn't know who else I could turn to."

Galdamesis angry that people in her own lifewho she thinks should have noticed something inappropriateeither didn't, or did and stayed quiet.

"When I look at girls who are as young as I was and I see how vulnerable they are, how devastating it can be for themand how sometimes trauma manifests itself, how no one asked there's something wrong with this picture. And that's very painful. I'm angry," she said.

"I was still addressing him as Uncle Manny when he would drop me off at workor to school. You would see that I didn't look right and I would address him as Uncle Manny and nobody said anything about that. It was always my behaviour that became questionable. Why is she acting out, why is she crying?"

'I am not ashamed'

Despite fears thatputting her name and face toallegations of sexual assaultcouldresult in a backlash,Galdamessaid she wanted to tell her story in hopes of helping other women stillafraid to speak up.

She said she has advice she gives to children she works with who have been sexually exploited.

"I always make a point of telling them that they're sacred, beautiful human beings, and that you shouldn't be ashamed of those scars, you should be ashamed that you live in a world that doesn't give you a voice or that you're not being heard," Galdames said.

"I am not ashamed."

Police encourage parents to talk to their kids about any suspicious activity they may have seen and contact police with concerns.

Anyone with informationcan contact the counter exploitation unit at 204-986-3464 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-8477.