Court Briefs: Tae Kwon Do Instructor Ordered to Trial on Sex Charges; Indecent Exposure Suspect Needs Further Testing; Burglary Suspects to Appear in Court

Former martial arts instructor headed to trial on sexual assault charges

Scio Township resident Edward James Bruner, 58, the former instructor at a Dexter Township Tae Kwon Do studio charged with multiple counts of sexually assaulting his students, was ordered to trial Thursday.

Court records show Bruner waived his right to a preliminary hearing in district court and entered not guilty pleas to counts of first- and second-degree criminal sexual conduct and four counts of possessing child pornography. He remains in custody without bond pending a March 22 hearing in Washtenaw County Circuit Court.

Bruner was in January after investigators with the Michigan State Police were contacted by motorists who reported seeing Bruner engaged in a sex act with another individual while driving erratically on westbound Interstate 94 near Chelsea. Investigators determined the victim was a 12-year-old boy whom Bruner taught at Kitchi Tae Kwon Do in Dexter Township. He worked there for nearly three years and has associations with several other martial arts studios in and around Washtenaw County.

Authorities charged him with possessing child sexually abusive material after they searched his Scio Township home upon his arrest. A second victim came forward after Bruner’s case was publicized and told authorities that Bruner had assaulted him in 2004 while he was the boy’s instructor at a different business.

Bruner is represented by the Washtenaw County Public Defender’s Office, which has a strict policy against commenting on pending cases.

Mental competency exams underway for repeat indecent exposure suspect

The Iosco County man who is accused of exposing himself to residents outside their homes in western Washtenaw County is undergoing a third psychiatric examination, according to court records.

Washtenaw County Circuit Judge David Swartz granted William Engle permission to seek the opinion of an independent psychologist before his trial for four counts of indecent exposure by a sexually delinquent person. The evaluation is to be completed prior to a pretrial hearing March 10.

Engle’s attorneys with the Washtenaw County Public Defender’s Office already filed documents indicating they would seek the insanity defense if the case makes it to trial. The results of the evaluation could delay Engle’s scheduled trial on March 28.

Washtenaw County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Engle shortly after residents of a Lima Township home reported seeing a man expose himself to them while he sat in a vehicle in their driveway in August, reports said. Deputies had investigated at least a dozen similar reports from residents in Dexter, Scio and Webster townships and learned of similar incidents in Chelsea, Stockbridge and Ann Arbor.

The East Tawas resident was staying with friends or acquaintances in the area at the times the crimes occurred, reports said.

Police said Engle made incriminating statements about the activity upon his arrest, and since he is a U.S. military veteran, he was taken to the Veterans Administration Hospital in Ann Arbor for a psychiatric evaluation. He was also deemed fit for trial after an evaluation by doctors at the Center for Forensic Psychiatry in York Township late last year.

Engle remains in custody on $50,000 cash bond.

Dexter woman scheduled for sentencing for burglary spree

A Dexter woman faces sentencing next month for her role in a series of home invasions and burglaries that plagued Scio and Webster townships last spring.

Tera Bowman, 27, faces up to five years in prison on each count of second-degree home invasion for the May burglaries at her sentencing March 10 in Washtenaw County Circuit Court. Records show she pleaded guilty to five counts of the felony charge in December to avoid a jury trial. Prosecutors agreed to drop five additional counts as long as she continued to cooperate with the investigation.

Authorities said she and a male accomplice broke into a Scio Township business and a Scio Township home May 12. She also helped break into two different homes later that week where electronics and miscellaneous personal items were reported missing.

Washtenaw County Sheriff’s deputies located some of the stolen merchandise in pawn shops in the Metro Detroit area and tracked it to Bowman. She remains free on a personal bond pending sentencing. Bowman’s attorney, David Goldstein, declined comment.

Her alleged accomplice, Joshua Gasiorowski, was formally charged on 10 counts of home invasion earlier this year and is expected in Washtenaw County Circuit this week for a pretrial hearing.

Prison records show Gasiorowski, 29, was sentenced in January to serve between 18 months and 15 years in prison on a home-invasion conviction in Oakland County.