Bruce Escott, an 82-year-old former taxi driver involved in a massive sexual exploitation case in St. John’s, pleaded guilty in provincial court Friday to seven counts of sexual offences.
Escott walked slowly into a crowded courtroom on Friday morning, taking a moment to scan the two rows of seating.
Several police officers, social workers and one of his victims stared back.
Moments later, Escott’s lawyer, MacKenzie Hughes, informed the judge of his decision. He agreed to plead guilty to half the counts he was facing — including four counts of sexual assault, two counts of sexual interference, and one count of sexual exploitation. He pleaded guilty to at least one count for each of the six victims he was accused of abusing.
Seven other charges have been dropped.
Escott pleaded guilty offences ranging from 1995 to 2021.
His co-accused, 63-year-old Tony Humby, has pleaded not guilty and intends to take his case to trial in March. Escott took a different path, first pleading guilty to a single charge in July as a placeholder while the Crown and defence worked out a larger deal.
The two men were neighours in the Ann Jeannette trailer park in the east end of St. John’s.
While sentencing in his case was initially scheduled for Friday, Escott’s lawyer succeeded in pushing it to a later date. He’ll be back in court Friday afternoon, where the facts of the case will be read into the record, and the judge will hear at least three victim impact statements.
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