‘I’m sorry for all the pain and anger I’ve caused’
McArthur’s statement in 2003 case came as Crown warned him to stay away from sex workers
After Bruce McArthur pleaded guilty to hitting a man numerous times with a metal pipe on Halloween in 2001, the Crown’s main concern was keeping him away from male sex workers.
“We believe that until he has a much better psychiatric handle on himself, and given the background of this case, that that’s part of the subculture he is best kept away from,” Crown attorney Michael Leshner said in court at McAr- thur’s sentencing in April 2003.
McArthur — an alleged serial killer who faces six counts of first-degree murder — was before the courts for the first time in 2003, having pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm on a man who advertised as a “male hustler,” the Crown said.
A court recording of the sentencing, obtained by the Star through a court order, has shed some light on the circumstances around the attack, although the proceedings make clear that no motive was ever determined.
McArthur said he did not know why he attacked the victim, but did apologize at his sentencing.
“I just wanted to apologize to the court for what happened. My life’s been kind of a mess in the last year and a half, knowing what’s going to happen and what’s happened to me,” McArthur told now-retired Ontario Court Justice William Bassel. “I’d like to apologize to the victim . . . I wouldn’t know what to say, other than I’m sorry for all the pain and anger I’ve caused him.”
The Crown and defence put forward a joint submission on sentencing, which included a conditional sentence of two years less a day, which would see McArthur spend the first year under house arrest, followed by a curfew for six months.
The sentence would be followed by three years’ probation.
During the conditional sentence, McArthur was barred from an area that includes Toronto’s Gay Village and where the Crown indicated McArthur could come into contact with male sex workers.
The area he was prohibited from entering — unless for some exceptions — was bordered by University Ave. to the west, Bloor St. to the north, Sherbourne St. to the east, and College/Carlton St. to the south.
“From my perspective, it’s in the best interest to keep him out of the area where he’s more likely than not to come into . . . (to) likely be enticed by male prostitutes,” Leshner told the judge.
Court heard that McArthur and the victim knew each other enough to say “hello” on the street, and that the victim allowed McArthur into his apartment building on Oct. 31, 2001.
No sexual encounter took place that day. The victim had thought about showing his Halloween costume to McArthur, the Crown said, but instead was hit numerous times from behind by McArthur with a metal pipe he had brought with him.
McArthur went to police headquarters almost immediately afterward, reporting he may have hurt someone.
Leshner said the incident had “traumatized” the victim, who was released from hospital within a day and required stitches to his fingers. He did not provide a victim impact statement at McArthur’s sentencing.
Other conditions of McArthur’s sentence included a prohibition on taking illicit drugs and “poppers” — a chemical compound which can be inhaled prior to sex and is popular among some gay men.
“The reason for that is there was some suggestion that he may have taken poppers that day (of the assault). I believe the psychiatric report suggests that he takes them prior to sex,” Leshner said, adding McArthur had also been taking the antiseizure medication Dilantin.
“Given that he’s on Dilantin to begin with, I think it’s fair to say that everyone wants to keep him away from poppers since we have no idea what caused this incident.”
McArthur was also ordered to seek counselling for mental health issues, particularly for anger management. He was told to see his family physician within weeks of his sentencing, though his lawyer told the court McArthur was having trouble getting an appointment with his doctor due to the SARS outbreak in Toronto that year.
The Crown had originally considered seeking a jail sentence, but Leshner said he reconsidered after reading the pre-sentence and psychiatric reports filed at McArthur’s sentencing hearing.
“I am satisfied that it wouldn’t be in society’s interests and Mr. McArthur’s interests to have him go to jail at this point in time, but there will be very strict conditions on the conditional sentence,” Leshner told the judge.
McArthur has so far been charged this year with six counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Andrew Kinsman, Selim Esen, Majeed Kayhan, Soroush Mahmudi, Dean Lisowick, and Skandaraj “Skanda” Navaratnam, all of whom had connections to the Gay Village.
On Friday, at a news conference announcing that McArthur would face a sixth murder charge for Navaratnam’s death, Toronto police homicide Det.-Sgt. Hank Idsinga would not comment when asked about a Star story on McArthur’s guilty plea from the 2003 assault case.
“I’m not going to discuss any of Mr. McArthur’s past involvement with the police,” said Idsinga, adding that McArthur “technically” did not have acriminal record prior to the murder charges he is now facing.
The Star has confirmed that McArthur was granted a pardon for the 2003 conviction, although the record of the court proceedings remains public.