The 24-year-old member of the Canadian Armed Forces who drove
his motorcycle about 2,000 miles from Saskatchewan to Gilroy in
hopes of having sex with a 17-year-old girl faces more than five
years in prison.
The 24-year-old member of the Canadian Armed Forces who drove his motorcycle about 2,000 miles from Saskatchewan to Gilroy in hopes of having sex with a 17-year-old girl faces more than five years in prison.
Michael DeBruyn, of Wallaceburg, Ontario, was arraigned Wednesday afternoon on charges of employing, persuading or inducing a minor’s involvement in modeling, posing or performing sexual conduct; possession of child pornography; contacting and communicating with a minor with intent to commit a crime; and distributing harmful matter to a minor, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney. He faces a maximum sentence of five years and eight months in prison, according to District Attorney spokeswoman Amy Cornell.
DeBruyn is currently in police custody on bail of $100,000.
On leave from military duty, DeBruyn showed up in town Saturday at a Gilroy High School event and tried to contact the girl. DeBruyn then arrived at the girl’s house about 7:15 a.m. Sunday, but she was not home, Sgt. Wes Stanford said. The parents of the girl then called police.
“The parents basically told him to leave,” said Sgt. Wes Stanford. “When he didn’t leave, they called us.”
The Dispatch has chosen not to release the location of the house or arrest because it could identify the victim of the crimes.
DeBruyn and the girl met when the girl was 13 years old on an online social networking website but their contact wasn’t continuous over the next four years, Stanford said. The initial contact wasn’t sexual in nature, he said. Only in the last few months did the two begin exchanging sexually graphic text messages, according to police. DeBruyn also started talking about coming to visit, Stanford said.
“She really didn’t believe him,” Stanford said. “Then he showed up and that changed everything. It was more than she had bargained for.”
Police concluded through unspecified evidence that DeBruyn had come to Gilroy to have sex with the girl, and arrested him. DeBruyn was also in possession of child pornography, police said.
DeBruyn is scheduled to appear in court 1:30 p.m. April 20 in Department 109 at the South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill for a plea hearing.
