'I was disgusted,' accuser testifies at Winnipeg trial of man charged with sexually assaulting 3 teens

WARNING: This article contains details regarding sexual assault allegations.

The trial of a man charged in the 2022 sexual assaults of two teen girls and an 18-year-old woman heard from two of the man's accusers as it began this week.

Michael Edward Bruce, 43, has pleaded not guilty to a number of charges in connection with the 2022 sexual assaults of the three teenagers, two of whom were minors.

Bruce was arrested in 2022 and later charged withsexual assault, luringa person under 18 and a person under 16, obtaining sexual services from a person under 18,sexual interferenceand invitation to sexual touching.

He was also charged with making or possessing child pornographyfor the purpose of publication.

CBC is not naming any of the alleged victims due to a publication ban.

Two of those peoplethe 18-year-old and Bruce'syoungest accuser, who was 13 years old at the time of the alleged sexual assault testified from behind a room divider in the courtroom, just feet away from Bruce, who is out of custody on a releaseorder and sat next to his lawyers.

The third alleged victima girl who was 15 years old at the time of Bruce's arrest died last year.

Hisjudge-alone trialbegan Monday atCourt of King's Bench in Winnipegwith thetestimony and cross-examination of the youngergirl, now 15.

She told the court she and a friend were boredone night in April 2022, so the friend led her to a home in Winnipeg's North End around midnight.

The girl says she and her friend mettwo other teens whom she did not knowincluding the 18-year-old alleged victim and drank alcohol with them.

The girl said her friend previously knew Bruce, who identified himself online as Eddie Brigance, andmessaged the man via social media, offering him sex with one of the four girls in exchange for more alcohol.

The girl said the 18-year-old, who was heavily intoxicated, told them that she would "take one for the team" and meet with Bruce in his truck in order to get more alcohol.

That woman, now 21, testified in court on Tuesday that she felt pressured by the other girls to get drunk and wasn't aware that she was agreeing to have sex with Bruce.

When she got into his truck, the woman said she repeatedly turned down Bruce's sexual advances.

"I clearly told him that I did not want to have sex with him," she testified.

Bruce drove to a grocery store parking lot and led her into the backseat of his truck, before he forcibly kissed her, took off her clothes and sexually assaulted her, she told the court.

She was so intoxicated that she had to fight to keep her eyes open and fell asleep during the assault, she testified. Bruce handed her a towel when she awoke and took her back to the North End home.

"I was disgusted," she told the court.

'Something I don't ever want to remember'

The woman arrived back at the home about half an hour after she left with Bruce, according to the now 15-year-old's testimony.

The teen said she did not want to stay overnight at the home, but there were no buses running and she did not want to get in trouble for sneaking away from home, so her friend arranged for Bruce to drive her back by putting them in contact with each other again via social media.

She testified that she knew she was "probably going to get sexually assaulted" by Bruce, but felt it was her only option to get home.

Bruce also drove the teen to a grocery store parking lot and led her into the backseat of his truck, she told court.She declined Bruce's requests to have sex, but he groped and coerced her into giving him oral sex, she said.

Bruce told her,"If you don't do something for me, I can't bring you home," she testified.

"It makes me feel disgusted in myself and [it's] something I don't ever want to remember," she told the court.

"It makes me terrified for my little siblings, and it worries me, because I know a lot of other girls who have gone through this."

During cross-examination, defence lawyer Mike Cook suggested that the 15-year-old falsely presented herself as "this drunk victim" to police, saying she had sent Bruce a social media message that night offeringoral sex.

The girl acknowledged that she had lied during her police interview about how she ended up at the North End home, that she never told Bruce her real age and that she looked older than her age when she wore makeup.

However, she said she only lied to police because she was young and afraid of getting in trouble.

Cook also pressed the now 21-year-old woman about her testimony, saying that she knew she would have a sexual encounter with Bruce in exchange for alcohol.

The judge-alone trial, before Justice Sadie Bond, is scheduled until the end of next week.

For anyone who has been sexually assaulted, there is support available through crisis lines and local support services via the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.