OTSEGO COUNTY – In July 2019, a women contacted the Michigan State Police (MSP) Gaylord Post with some disturbing information She was shopping at a store in Gaylord and alleges that a man took photos up her skirt while she was shopping for shoes. The victim came to the MSP Gaylord Post and said a man was standing uncomfortably close to her in a local store while she was shopping for shoes. The man bent over, and she observed he had his phone in his hand while his camera app was open. She immediately confronted the man and asked if he was taking photographs. He denied the allegation and then showed her photos on his phone.
The victim video recorded her confrontation with the man. She posted the video of the confrontation on Facebook and asked if anyone recognized him. Someone replied it was Tim Bruce from Charlevoix. Troopers interviewed 56-year-old Timothy Mark Bruce at his residence in Charlevoix. Bruce stated he was at the store in Gaylord shopping. Bruce said he remembered the confrontation with a woman but denied taking any photographs. His phone was seized and sent to the MSP Computer Crimes Unit in Traverse City for analysis. The evidence was returned, and a report was sent to the Otsego County Prosecutor for review.
A warrant was authorized, and Bruce was arrested for one count of Surveilling an Unclothed Person, a two-year felony. He was arraigned on December 12, 2019, in the 87-A Court in Otsego County. The case was bound over to the 46th Circuit Court in Otsego County. On June 23, 2022, Bruce plead guilty to Surveilling an Unclothed Person. Bruce was sentenced this week to six months in the Otsego County Jail and will also be added to the Michigan Sex Offender Registry.
