West Olive man sentenced for criminal sexual conduct with family member
GRAND HAVEN — A West Olive man was charged with first- and second-degree criminal sexual conduct for incidents that took place with a family member.
Dustin Bruse, 38, stood in court Monday and listened to the victim’s impact statement.
“My innocence was stolen from me and I was living in mass fear,” she said, adding that she and her parent attend weekly therapy sessions.
Bruse’s lawyer told the judge that their client admitted to the misconduct after the victim's mother grew concerned about her talk of self-harm. Bruse then drove himself to the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office and turned himself in.
“I did that as a first step to allow healing,” Bruse told Ottawa County Circuit Judge Karen Miedema. “I’m ashamed of what I’ve done. … This is the most pain I’ve endured in my life thinking about what my family is going through.”
Miedema acknowledged Bruse’s apology, but asserted the damage he caused to the victim, and sentenced him to a minimum of 20 years in prison. Bruse will be required to register as a sex offender and will be subject to lifetime GPS monitoring upon release.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: West Olive man sentenced for criminal sexual conduct with family member
