Middlesex County Man Convicted Of Sexual Assault At Gunpoint After Home Invasion

A 44-year-old New Brunswick man has been found guilty on December 9 of enter the home of a stranger and sexually assaulting her at gunpoint, Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey announced.

Bruce Sterling was found guilty of burglary while armed, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, terroristic threats, aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Sterling had previously been found guilty in the 12-year-old brutal attack, but was granted a new trial in an appeal to the state Supreme Court.

A jury sitting in New Brunswick convicted Sterling after deliberating about two hours over two days and announced the guilty verdict on Tuesday, according to Carey.

During a trial that began on December 2, 2014, Middlesex County Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor Christie L. Bevacqua presented evidence and testimony linking Sterling to the attack of the 21-year-old victim, who was sexually assaulted in her home on Richardson Street in New Brunswick. Included in evidence was a DNA sample that matched Sterling to the attack.

Bevacqua argued to the jury that Sterling walked into the victim’s home in mid-afternoon, threatened her, struck her, and sexually assaulted her at gunpoint before fleeing.

Sterling was linked to the crime three years later when he was matched to the DNA sample after he was apprehended by North Brunswick police in an unrelated case.

Sterling could be incarcerated for up to 20 years in a New Jersey state prison when he is sentenced on February 16, 2015. He also had been convicted in two other cases and continues to serve a 40-year prison term.