Benjamin Nathaniel Bruce: Serial rapist accused of shocking acts against women over years stands trial

An accused serial rapist charged with dozens of violent offences against several women allegedly choked, punched, sexually assaulted and urinated on his victims. Benjamin Nathaniel Bruce is standing trial before a jury at the District Court accused of 29 offences, including 10 counts of sexual penetration without consent. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The 26-year-old is accused of physically and sexually assaulting five women over several years. His relationships with the alleged victims were described by the prosecution as extremely volatile and turbulent, and allegedly “characterised by domestic violence and coercive control”. Mr Bruce allegedly physically attacked the women, some of whom he was said to be in a relationship with at the time, by allegedly punching, kicking or choking them until they lost consciousness. He also allegedly sexually assaulted the women on numerous occasions, often leaving them bloodied and bruised in the days following. And on two separate occasions, Mr Bruce allegedly urinated on a young woman, once in the shower and once in the bathroom. One alleged violent act happened in 2018 at a unit in Joondalup, where Mr Bruce was living with one of his victims at the time. She had a runny nose due to having a cold, but Mr Bruce did not like her sniffing and without warning allegedly punched her in the nose with a clenched fist. The force of the alleged hit caused her nose to start bleeding. Mr Bruce apologised, allegedly telling her words to the effect of, if she had blown her nose, he wouldn’t have had to do that. The court was told his general conduct during that relationship was permeated with jealousy, particularly if she spoke to male friends and even if she messaged other girls who were friends. Mr Bruce allegedly became more volatile as time went on, with one argument resulting in him allegedly holding the woman upside down until she stopped crying. He then allegedly punched her several times in the head after putting her down. In 2019, another victim was allegedly choked until she passed out by Mr Bruce. She was living with Mr Bruce at the time in Success when they had an argument. He allegedly grabbed her by throat, choking her until she couldn’t breathe. The court was told this was not the first time he had allegedly throttled her, but it was the worst. Dizzy and fearful, she passed out before waking up lying on the floor. After that, Mr Bruce allegedly pulled her up off the floor and onto the bed, where he proceeded to pull off her underwear and allegedly sexually assault her. The court was told she could not consent because she was in shock, and she couldn’t speak because her throat was in so much pain after allegedly being choked out. Another incident saw Mr Bruce allegedly throw a plate of hot Mexican food at the young woman because he didn’t like that she had microwaved it. It left her bruised. Mr Bruce was allegedly always in control of the relationship, including how they had sex, telling her what to wear, and going through her mobile phone when she received messages. He allegedly became increasingly violent during their sexual encounters, including one time in which he allegedly slapped her hard in the face. The trial is expected to run for four weeks, where the jury will hear from 25 witnesses — including some of Mr Bruce’s alleged victims. Sexual Assault Resource Centre 1800 199 888