Newstimes
Kendra Baker
DANBURY—A Glastonbury millionaire will be trading in a life of luxury for at least 10 years in jail for his role in a local sex-trafficking ring.
Dressed in a navy suit jacket and striped tie, Bruce Bemer was sentenced Monday in Danbury Superior Court after being found guilty in April on four counts of patronizing a trafficked person and one count of criminal liability for trafficking a person.
The sentencing comes days after Bemer agreed pay a settlement to one of the victims who had filed a civil suit against him. Bemer agreed to the settlement Friday as the civil trial was about to begun in Superior Court.
Judge Robin Pavio said the court took a number of factors into consideration in the sentencing, including “the level of conduct, the time span, the egregiousness of the conduct, the ability to be able to rehabilitate the individual and ultimately what the sentence is going to achieve.
“What had become evident from the evidence in this case was that this conduct by the defendant was purposeful,” Pavio said. “It was continuous — it spanned over a very lengthy period of time. It was manipulative and it was very destructive.”
Bemer — who owns the New London-Waterford Speedbowl and other businesses — was arrested in March 2017 and accused of trapping vulnerable young men in a predatory cycle of cocaine addiction, prostitution and threats of death. At least two of the 15 victims had developmental disabilities, prosecutors said.
Bemer initially said he was not guilty, but later admitted to patronizing prostitutes. His attorney, Anthony Spinella, however, denied there was any human-trafficking.
Assistant State’s Attorney Sharmese Hodge told the jury during the trial that one of the other men in the sex ring — Robert King, of Danbury — found the victims at drug rehabilitation centers and group homes and brought them to Bemer for sex acts.
King pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit human trafficking in 2018. He currently awaits sentencing. King’s plea deal calls for four years in prison and 35 years of probation.
Hodge said Bemer knew full well what he was doing when he “entered into a business arrangement that capitalized for his own sexual pleasure on the vulnerable.”
One of the victims spoke at Bemer’s sentencing.
“When I met Mr. Bemer and Robert King, I was getting my life together,” the victim said. “I had a job; I was doing well — and then I met Bob and Bruce, and I got back on to drugs, and it just ruined my whole life. I just want him to pay for what he did.”
Pavio said evidence presented at trial showed that Bemer worked with King “to develop individuals more to his liking.
“It was a very detailed and very developed intent-driven scheme in which the defendant honed particular individuals — individuals he knew could not fend as well for themselves — drug-addicted and mentally ill individuals. He knew and understood their fragile nature,” Pavio said.
Pavio said evidence presented at trial showed that Bemer worked with King “to develop individuals more to his liking.
“It was a very detailed and very developed intent-driven scheme in which the defendant honed particular individuals — individuals he knew could not fend as well for themselves — drug-addicted and mentally ill individuals. He knew and understood their fragile nature,” Pavio said.
Pavio granted the defense’s request for a $750,000 bond so Bemer wouldn’t have to await an appeal in jail. The same restrictions prior to the sentencing are still in place, including not being able to contact complainants and their families, as well as any potential witness.
A new restriction also prohibits Bemer, who owns helicopters and planes, from operating aircraft.
He must also submit a medical evaluation and treatment as deemed appropriate by the Department of Probation, cooperate with a sex offender evaluation and register as a sex offender.
Bemer’s attorneys said they would be filing an appeal “immediately” and calling for a new trial.
During the trial, the defense attacked witness credibility and motioned for dismissal of the case.
The jury returned a guilty verdict after about two days of deliberations, and Bemer showed little emotion as he was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.
Victims of the sex-trafficking ring — who were cross-examined during the trial and subjected to coarse insinuations by the defense about their motives for testifying — were elated with the jury verdict.
Bemer is being sued by 14 of the victims of the decades-long trafficking ring, who claim he had sex with them while he was infected with HIV. He has agreed to set aside $25 million to satisfy any potential judgment in the case.
Attorney Joel Faxon, who represents eight of Bemer’s victims, confirmed that they had settled one, but would not disclose the terms of the settlement.
“Hopefully this gives us a framework to settle the others,” Faxon said.
The next civil trial in the case is scheduled to begin early next month.