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Highlands Today

Authorities Catch Sex Offender After Two Years

File photo/Highlands Today

After two years of eluding a prison sentence that he previously agreed to, sex offender Bruce M. Glaum, formerly of Sebring, was sentenced Tuesday to 12 and a half years in prison.

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By Dan  Fearson | Highlands Today

Published: October 3, 2007

SEBRING — After two years of eluding a prison sentence that he previously agreed to, sex offender Bruce M. Glaum, formerly of Sebring, was sentenced Tuesday to 12 and a half years in prison.

Judge Peter Estrada sentenced Glaum, 33, Tuesday morning at the Highlands County Courthouse to the maximum penalty for a charge of a lewd battery of a minor under the age of 16.

Glaum, a truck driver, was originally arrested in 1997 for the battery charge. He was sentenced to house arrest and was ordered to enter a sexual offender treatment program after reaching a plea agreement with the state. He was also sentenced to eight years of community controlled probation and 60 days in the Highlands County Jail.

Soon after his probation began, Glaum made multiple court appearances for violations stemming from drug and alcohol abuse. The terms of his probation were modified after every violation, which included the reinstatement of the eight year probation term. He also served short jail sentences.

In March 2004, Glaum's case was reopened following an arrest after he violated his probation for failing to make a scheduled court appearance. Glaum was released from jail on his own recognizance in July 2005, and placed under house arrest until his sentencing date.

Glaum eventually reached a plea agreement with the state in August 2005 after numerous probation violations while serving his original sentence for the battery charge. Under the plea, Glaum agreed to serve a seven year prison sentence, however, after he was granted a two-week release before he was set to begin serving the sentence, he did not return to court.

After he failed to appear in court, Glaum became an absconder on the FDLE's sexual offender database.

Eventually the pressure of eluding authorities for two years caught up with Glaum, as Highlands County Sheriff's Office officials, including analyst Sharon Burch, began searching for him using nationwide databases to track his movements. Glaum was traced to numerous cities throughout the United States, becoming a resident in both Indiana and Arkansas.

Glaum eventually turned himself in to the sheriff's office on Aug. 22, and admitted in court Tuesday that he was "tired of running" from the law.

Glaum was one of four men who had their photographs featured on the front page of the Highlands Today on Aug. 4, which had an article about sexual offenders.

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