A New Brunswick man responsible for a sexual assault in North Brunswick has been convicted a second time on charges of breaking into a woman’s home and sexually assaulting her.
Bruce Sterling, 45, was found guilty on Sept. 29 of burglary while armed, aggravated sexual assault, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and terroristic threats, according to a statement prepared by Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey.
During a trial that began on Sept. 24, Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Lisa Miralles Walsh presented evidence and testimony showing that Sterling climbed though the window of a home in New Brunswick, took a knife from the kitchen and sexually assaulted a 25-year-old woman in her bedroom at 3:30 a.m. on June 9, 2003, Carey said.
Sterling previously had been tried and convicted in the case, but the conviction was overturned by the New Jersey Supreme Court in 2013.
He was arrested and charged when he attempted to break into the North Brunswick apartment and was chased by the homeowner. Police later found him hiding in the woods.
An investigation linked him to the other sexual assault cases. Detectives determined that on June 9, 2005, Sterling, who worked as a nurse’s aide, broke into the New Brunswick woman’s home and sexually assaulted her during his lunch break.
Sterling is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 7 to up to 20 years in a New Jersey state prison.
Sterling is already serving a 50-year term for sexually assaulting women in Edison and New Brunswick and for an armed burglary of an apartment in North Brunswick. He has been serving time since 2007.