Given his continued denials of the offences, that could have been indefinite.
The sentence reaffirmed one handed down to Bruce by Justice Timothy Brewer in 2021 after a jury found him guilty of 33 charges arising from the same offending.
That sentence was quashed when Bruce was granted a retrial, which took place as a judge-alone hearing before Justice Edwards earlier this year.
She too found him guilty, albeit acquitting him of two charges.
The sentence imposed yesterday covers 10 charges of sexual violation by rape, four of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection, two of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, seven of threatening to kill, two of injuring with intent to injure, two of indecent assault, one of assault with a weapon, and three of assaulting a female.
Some of the charges were representative of multiple offences.
The court heard Bruce is university-educated, has worked at numerous jobs, and has previously run his own business.
He has been assessed by the authors of four specialist mental health reports – two prepared for his 2021 sentencing and two for this week’s – as having narcissistic, psychotic, and antisocial personality traits.
The court also heard Bruce is now in a new relationship with a woman overseas, whom he met online while in custody. He was forbidden to have any relationships with women while on bail.
His offending happened over a 15-year period during which he had successive relationships with five complainants, whose identities are automatically suppressed.
The relationships followed similar patterns – an initial “honeymoon” phase quickly followed by Bruce becoming increasingly controlling and manipulative, Edwards said.
In each relationship, the women became pregnant – some early on – and Bruce showed an obsession with virginity.
There were multiple incidents of sexual violence, including multiple rapes of four of the women.
Bruce demanded sexual activity every day, whether the complainant agreed or not. He would berate or pester the complainants until they had no choice but to give in.
Edwards noted that compliance or submission was not consent, nor could it reasonably be assumed to be.
Justice Rebecca Edwards.
Some tactics and offending were particularly “callous and brutal”, the judge said.
Proven allegations included threats to kill and various forms of violence, rape, injury, and suffocation.
Sometimes the sex with complainants occurred soon after they had given birth.
Edwards said Bruce exploited the women’s vulnerability and isolated them, including by moving to a remote place.
Each victim had been physically, emotionally, and psychologically scarred, the judge said.
She described their victim impact statements as “moving and powerful”, albeit only a glimpse of what the women must have gone through. One said she only spoke up to protect any potential future victims.
Edwards said she thought long and hard about imposing preventive detention and was only stepping back from doing so by the finest margin.
She said the 10-year minimum non-parole period was necessary because without it, Bruce would be eligible for parole after serving a third of his sentence – six and a half years – which would be insufficient to hold him accountable for the offending, or to satisfy sentencing principles and purposes.
Edwards said one of those relevant principles was the requirement for judges to impose the least restrictive outcome in the circumstances.
Even if Bruce served the entirety of his sentence without acknowledging the offending and therefore did not receive any treatment, there were mechanisms other than preventive detention, including an extended supervision order, which could be applied to safeguard the community on his release.
Bruce maintains he is the victim of a sinister plot by the five women and another witness, and of a corrupt justice system.
Calculating the sentence, Edwards agreed with Brewer’s earlier judgement that the offending fell into the top band of a guideline case, where a starting point of 19 years for the sexual offences was appropriate.
She added two years for the charges of specific violence, then gave a reduction of two years for findings in the mental health reports, which the judge said would make imprisonment more difficult for him, especially as a first-time prisoner, and his two years without any recorded breach on electronic bail.
SEXUAL HARM
Where to get help:
If it’s an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
If you’ve ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact Safe to Talk confidentially, any time 24/7:
Call 0800 044 334Text 4334Email support@safetotalk.nzFor more info or to web chat visit safetotalk.nz
Alternatively contact your local police station –click here for a list.
If you have been sexually assaulted, remember it’s not your fault.
Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in journalism, most of which she spent court reporting in Gisborne and on the East Coast.