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POLK COUNTY -- Terry Bruss, of Balsam Lake, WI, was sentenced to prison today on his conviction of 1st Degree Sexual Assault of a Child.
DrydenWire.com reported in March 2018 (see below) that Bruss entered a Plea of No Contest to one of the counts of 1st Degree Sexual Assault of Child that had been filed against him. The second count charging him with the same offense was dismissed but read in.
According to online circuit court records a sentencing hearing was held in Polk County Circuit Court on July 25, 2018 regarding Bruss’s conviction.
The Court ordered Bruss to serve 15 years in Wisconsin State Prison. Online circuit court records also show that Bruss will be required to comply with the Sex Offender Registry for life. Bruss is to be turned over to Dodge Correctional Facility, where his parole eligibility will be determined, along with his maximum release date.
The charges against Bruss stemmed from a report received by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office regarding a sexual assault of a child that had occurred in 1994. Charges were not filed at the time, however in 2014, law enforcement again spoke with the victim, and criminal charges were filed in 2016.
Bruss had previously been convicted and sentenced on other child sexual assault charges that were filed against him in 1994 and 1997.
**Original Post**
Polk County Man to be Sentenced on 3rd Case of Child Sexual Assault Charges
Friday, March 30, 2018 | DrydenWire.com
POLK COUNTY -- Terry Bruss, of Balsam Lake, WI is set to be sentenced on Child Sexual Assault charges in Polk County Circuit Court for the third time regarding charges stemming from 1993.
Bruss was previously convicted and sentenced on child sexual assault charges in two other criminal cases that were filed against him in Polk County Circuit Court in 1994 and 1997.
According to a criminal complaint filed against Terry Bruss in Polk County Circuit Court, another sexual assault was reported to Polk County Sheriff’s Office in 1994. At the time, the child victim stated to law enforcement that Bruss had exposed his genitals to the child and also exposed his genitals to 2 other child victims. Although charges were not filed at the time regarding this particular report of sexual assault, in February 2014, law enforcement again spoke with victim, who was able to provide additional detailed information regarding what had happened at the time of the incidents, and criminal charges were filed against Bruss in 2016.
Online circuit court records show that in November 1994, a separate case was filed against Bruss charging him with 7 counts of Class B 1st Degree Sexual Assault of Child and 1 count of Misdemeanor Exposing Genitals to Child from assaults occurring in 1993. Bruss plead guilty in February 1995 to 2 counts of Class B 1st Degree Sexual Assault of Child. The rest of the charges were dismissed but read in.
In June 1995, the Court ordered an Imposed and Stayed sentence of 10 years confinement in State Prison, with 10 years of Probation Imposed and 1 year of conditional Jail Time. With an Imposed and Stayed sentence, if an individual is found to be in violation of their probation, the Stayed portion of the sentence can be immediately imposed and the individual can be sent immediately to prison.
Yet another case was filed against Bruss in September 1997, charging Bruss with 3 more counts of 1st Degree Sexual Assault of Child. He was found guilty at Jury Trial in November 1997 and in September 1998 Bruss was sentenced to 10 years confinement in state prison, to be served consecutively to the prison sentence that was ordered in the 1994 criminal case.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) website, Bruss remained in the custody of the DOC until January 2014 when he was released on Supervision.
The criminal complaint filed against Bruss in 2016 states that in February 2014, the female victim of Bruss once again spoke with law enforcement and provided detailed information about multiple incidents in which Bruss had sexual contact with her and another child victim.
The victim was able to provide law enforcement with detailed descriptions of the residence in which these assaults occurred, and also provided a time frame between June of 1993 and November of 1994 in which the assaults occurred.
The criminal complaint filed against Bruss states that he touched the child victim’s genitals on multiple occasions, and at least some of those assaults occurred in the shower located in the residence. Bruss made the child victim look at pornographic materials and mimic the poses in those images. Bruss also forced the child victim to perform fellatio on him. The victim also told investigators that Bruss deliberately placed her and the other child victim nearby a room in which he was having intercourse with an adult female and made them watch.
In June 2014, law enforcement interviewed Bruss regarding these allegations. Initially Bruss denied the allegations, and even volunteered to take a polygraph test. However, Bruss later stated that although he couldn’t remember doing the things that the victim stated, if he had been intoxicated at the time, he couldn’t say for sure that it didn’t happen.
The criminal complaint goes on to state that ultimately Bruss stated that he did remember touching the victim.
Two counts of Class B Felony Sexual Assault of a Child Under 13 Years of Age were filed against Bruss. According to online circuit court records, at a hearing in Polk County Circuit Court on March 29, 2018, Bruss entered a plea of No Contest to one of the counts filed against him. The Court accepted his plea and found him guilty. The second count was dismissed but read in by the Court.
Bruss is scheduled to be sentenced on his conviction in June 2018. The maximum penalty for this conviction is 20 years of confinement in state prison.
The Wisconsin Sex Offender Registry indicates that because of his previous convictions, Bruss is already required to register as a Sex Offender for life.
Pursuant to the direction of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, as found in Supreme Court Rule 20:3.6, Trial Publicly, you are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Last Update: Jul 25, 2018 6:48 pm CDT
