'Felt broken inside': Victims of Bruce Escott disclose impacts of sexual abuse

WARNING: This article may affect those who have experienced​ ​​​sexual violence or know someone affected by it. 

The words of victims echoed in a packed St. John's courtroom Friday afternoon as they described the continuing effects of being violated as youths by convicted serial sexual predator Bruce Escott.

"The emotional impact this had on me ruined my life for many years," read the statement from a victim who was sexually assaulted by Escott between 2009 and 2011.

"I was anxious, depressed and felt broken inside."

Escott — an 82-year-old former taxi driver at the centre of a massive sexual exploitation case in St. John's — pleaded guilty to seven charges on Friday.

That includes four counts of sexual assault, two counts of sexual interference, and one count of sexual exploitation. 

He pleaded guilty to at least one charge for each of the six victims he was accused of abusing. Seven other counts were dropped as part of a plea deal with the Crown.

Another man said in his victim impact statement that the abuse he suffered led him to substance abuse, and made him turn "hateful and aggressive." As a result, he's been in and out of jail for nine years.

He has severe anxiety, severe chest pains and a hard time trusting people. His relationship with his daughter has suffered, which led to her being removed from his care.

Escott was convicted of sexually assaulting him over a period spanning from 2008 to 2012.

A third victim wrote in his statement to the court that he has "emotional scars" caused by the sexual abuse he suffered beginning when he was 14.

"I have a lot of mental pain. I feel like this whole ordeal took my innocence away," he wrote. "I will never forget what happened to me. I hope it does not happen to anyone else."

Escott spent Friday in a St. John's courtroom packed with people who helped put him away — police officers, social workers and one of his six victims.

Escott showed no emotion throughout the proceedings, in which the facts of his case were revealed.

They painted a picture of a man who preyed on teens with addictions issues and little family support.

The court heard Escott sometimes paid the youths for sexual acts. Other times, he violently took what he wanted for free.

The facts laid out two instances in which he raped his victims, including one on a secluded road off of the Trans-Canada Highway. The victim in that case ran away after the incident ended and hitch-hiked back to St. John's. In another instance, a teenager awoke in the middle of the night to Escott forcing himself on him.

Escott lived in a trailer by the airport in St. John's, just down the street from his co-accused, Tony Humby.

The agreed statement of facts in Escott's case allege the two men worked in concert, with Escott often driving boys to Humby's trailer and abusing them in the car.

Some victims described Escott as the more passive of the two, saying Humby was far more forceful.

Humby, 64, has pleaded not guilty, and is scheduled for trial in March.

Escott will be back in court on Jan. 31 for sentencing submissions. He will not likely be sentenced that day, but at a later court appearance.

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