Winnipeg firefighter accused of sex assault released on bail

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This article was published 25/10/2017 (2916 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg firefighter accused of having sex with underage girls has been granted bail. 

Manuel Ruiz, 52, was set to be released Wednesday evening, after provincial court Judge Lindy Choy approved his bail plan that afternoon.

He will be released on several conditions, including providing the court with $30,000 of his own recognizance, a $10,000 cash deposit and $75,000 from sureties who can vouch for him. He is not to be in contact or communicate by any means with anyone under the age of 18, unless he has appropriate supervision. (There’s an exception for his six-year-old daughter, subject to approval by Child and Family Services.)

Ruiz is not allowed to use the internet unless it’s for work. He’s bound by a midnight-to-6 a.m. curfew and must abide by a weapons prohibition.

The courtroom was nearly full of members of Ruiz’s family Wednesday as the judge delivered her decision. Details of the bail hearing, including the submissions made by Crown and defence lawyers and details of the allegations against Ruiz, are covered by a publication ban.

Ruiz has no criminal record. He has worked as a firefighter for the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service for 24 years.

Asked whether Ruiz will return to work upon his release from custody, a City of Winnipeg spokesperson said he’s been removed from “active duty.” Ruiz is also a martial arts instructor who owned a jiu-jitsu studio on Sherbrook Street.

He was arrested and charged last month with several offences stemming from his alleged abuse of two youths and an adult woman dating to 2001. The Winnipeg Police Service has said it believes some of the alleged crimes happened at Ruiz’s jiu-jitsu studio.

He’s charged with sexual assault, sexual exploitation and other sexual offences, as well as forcible confinement, luring a child via telecommunication, providing liquor to a minor and drug possession. 

Ruiz’s defence lawyer, Matthew Gould, said Wednesday his client’s focus now is on being with his family, including his three adult sons.

“It’s had an extraordinarily significant impact on him being in custody for the past month,” Gould said.

Court records show three different women sought court-ordered protection from Ruiz in 2001, 2006 and 2010. All three requests were denied by the court, including one made after the death of Ruiz’s 21-year-old girlfriend, Melissa Nelson. She died while on vacation with Ruiz in Cuba in 2006. Cuban authorities ruled her death accidental.

In divorce-related documents filed in court in 1985, Ruiz’s ex-wife accused him of beating her and subjecting her to “physical and mental cruelty,” starting within the first few months of their marriage. 

She later dropped the divorce petition, and Ruiz joined the Winnipeg fire department and opened a jiu-jitsu studio, offering self-defence classes and doing contract work in various Manitoba communities. The couple separated in 2000, and their divorce was finalized in 2011.

The case is set to return to court next month.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca  

Twitter: @thatkatiemay