Ferndale man sent to prison for recording himself sexually assaulting a child
A Ferndale man will spend more than a decade in prison for recording himself sexually assaulting an 8-year-old child in 2017.
Bruce David Vanderwoude, 34, was sentenced Monday, March 14, in Whatcom County Superior Court to a minimum of 10¼ years in prison, with a maximum of life in prison. Vanderwoude was given an indeterminate sentence, which means he has to serve the minimum 10¼ years in prison, but could be held for life, pending review by the Indeterminate Sentencing Review Board.
Once Vanderwoude has served most of his time, the board will review his offense, his behavior in prison and tests if it would be safe to release him into the community. If not, he will remain in prison and be evaluated again at a later date. This can continue for Vanderwoude’s life as part of his indeterminate sentence.
Vanderwoude will also be on probation for life and be required to register as a sex offender, according to court records.
Vanderwoude pleaded guilty Dec. 20 to first-degree rape of a child, according to court records.
Vanderwoude was arrested in Florida in February 2019 after a nationwide warrant for his arrest was issued in January of that year.
In November 2018, Ferndale police received a faxed referral from Child Protective Services in Colorado Springs where a witness had called to report the sexual assault of a child. When a Ferndale detective spoke with the witness, the witness said she had allowed Vanderwoude to move into her Colorado Springs home three weeks before she filed the report, according to court records.
While the woman was packing up her home to move out, the witness’s son found and brought her electronic storage devices belonging to Vanderwoude. When the woman looked on the storage devices, she found a video of Vanderwoude sexually assaulting a young female child while she slept, court records state.
The witness also found several media cards belonging to Vanderwoude that contained videos of children taking showers, the records state.
When the witness confronted Vanderwoude and his mother about the videos, Vanderwoude denied it was him and tried to destroy the electronic storage devices. Vanderwoude’s mother bought him a plane ticket from Colorado to Miami, Florida, the court records state.
The electronic storage devices were turned over to the Ferndale Police Department. Detectives found 11 images and 18 videos that had child pornography on them and showed Vanderwoude sexually assaulting the 8-year-old girl, the records state.
A separate witness identified the child in the video and the location of the assault as Vanderwoude’s parents’ home in Whatcom County, court records state.
Resources
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or sexual assault, you can contact the following local resources for free, confidential support:
▪ Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services: 24-hour Help Line: 360-715-1563, Email: info@dvsas.org.
▪ Brigid Collins Family Support Center: 360-734-4616, brigidcollins.org.
▪ Lummi Victims of Crime: 360-312-2015.
▪ Tl’ils Ta’á’altha Victims of Crime: 360-325-3310 or nooksacktribe.org/departments/youth-family-services/tlils-taaaltha-victims-of-crime-program/
▪ Bellingham Police: You can call anonymously at 360-778-8611, or go online at cob.org/tips.
▪ WWU Consultation and Sexual Assault Support Survivor Advocacy Services: 360-650-3700 or wp.wwu.edu/sexualviolence/.
