Sexual predator William Shrubsall pleads guilty to bail jumping, criminal contempt

A notorious sexual predator who embarked on a two-year reign of terror in Halifax after he fled Niagara Falls, N.Y., while on trial pleaded guilty to bail jumping and criminal contempt in a New York court on Thursday.

William Shrubsall, days shy of his 49th birthday, was set to go on trial on March 30 at the Niagara County Courthouse in Lockport, but entered his plea at a pre-trial conference.

Shrubsall was on trial in Niagara Falls in May 1996 for the sexualassault a year earlier ofa 17-year-old girl. While on trial, he left a suicide note and fled.

Within days, he turned up in Halifax, where helived under several aliases. Hecommitted a string of violent crimes and brutal sex assaults before he was apprehended in June 1998.

"He shouldn't be a man that's almost free," said Tracy Jesso, one of Shrubsall's victims.

On May4, 1998, Jesso went out for a night of dancing at the New Palace Cabaret in Halifax.

Jesso, 19 at the time, walked homealone from the club and thought someone was following her. She was then ambushed in a driveway by Shrubsall, who beat her and sexually assaulted her only five buildings from her home.

Jesso, who previously went to court to have a publication ban lifted on her name, said her injuries included a broken eye socket, 13 stitches and having her teeth knocked through her bottom lip. Her contact lenses had to be surgically removed.

Now working on a master's in social work, she said she was surprised by Shrubsall's decision to plead guilty.

"Normally, he'd say not guilty because he wants to be right," she said. "Now, he's starting to realize, 'OK, if I plead guilty, I'll get out of jail quicker,'" she said.

AParole Board of Canada document from November 2018 noted Shrubsallis "a high risk to re-offend sexually and that there is no institutional programming that would reduce [his]risk to a point where it would be manageable in the community."

How much time will Shrubsall serve?

Shrubsallis scheduled to be sentenced on March 26 for the bail jumping and criminal contempt indictments. He is expected to serve between two and six years for these crimes,but was previously expected to serve 2 to seven years.

He tried unsuccessfully last year to have the bail jumping chargethrown out on the grounds that his right to a speedy trial had been violated. However, a judge ruled the reason for the delay was because Shrubsall fled to Canada.

Shrubsall, who now goes by the name of Ethan Simon Templar MacLeod, is already serving time for the 1995 sexual assault for whichhe was found guilty in absentia. He's expected to serve between 2 to seven years for that.

Niagara County District Attorney Caroline Wojtaszek expects him to serveon the low end of the sentencing guidelinesfor his crimes.

Shrubsallwas declared a dangerous offender by Canadian authorities in 2001 and was given an indeterminate prison sentence, but wasgranted parole in November 2018. He wasextradited to the U.S. in January 2019.

Thedecision to grant Shrubsallparole in Canada wasmet with outrage byhis victims,Nova Scotia's justice minister, the Crown attorney who prosecutedShrubsallandthe lead detective who worked his case.

'The Canadian system let him go,' says victim

Jesso is angry Shrubsall was granted parole in Canada.

"He should still be here serving another 10 to 15 years at least," she said."But instead, the Canadian system let him go."

ACBC News investigation revealed Shrubsallplans to settle in Brooklyn, N.Y., once out of prison.He plans to be a bookkeeper for a trucking company being launched by a sexoffender Shrubsallmet while incarcerated in Canada.

The final parole decision for Shrubsall in Canada noted he had started seminary studies and his goal is to be ordained or get a doctorate.

Shrubsall's long criminal history dates back to his teenage years.

He became notorious when in 1988, at age 17, he beat his mother to death with a baseball bat on the night before his high school graduation in Niagara Falls, where he was to be the valedictorian. He ended up serving 16 months.

MORE TOP STORIES