Serial sexual predator pleads guilty after W5 investigation

Judy Trinh has more on Bryan Hayward of Hamilton, Ont., who was charged after a W5 investigation revealed he was a part of global network of predators.

Warning: Graphic content

Bryan Hayward whispered to a barely conscious woman, “Don’t worry, you’re not going to remember this.”

It can be heard in one of dozens of videos that he recorded. Videos of gruesome sexual assaults of several women. Those were the major pieces of evidence in his trial which ended this week, with Hayward admitting to drugging, raping, videotaping and then sharing those videos thousands of times.

CTV’s W5 investigative unit first revealed Hayward’s crimes in the 2025 documentary Sleeping with the Enemy. Led by managing editor Avery Haines, the W5 team infiltrated a massive online global network of men who secretly drug their wives and girlfriends to then share the videos of the assaults.

This week in a Hamilton courtroom, Hayward pleaded guilty to 21 charges to seven women.

Among them, several counts of sexual assault and voyeurism — the act of secretly recording victims while naked — and publishing intimate images without consent. Some victims had been repeatedly assaulted over a period of years.

Hayward was initially charged with more than 60 offences against 14 women when he was arrested outside a Tim Hortons drive-thru in Hamilton, Ont. on May 16, 2025.

The convictions come more than a year after W5 alerted Hamilton Police to Hayward’s connection to a massive global online network of men who share videos of unsuspecting intimate partners they drug and assault.

Hayward’s former spouse, Chelsea Davis attended court virtually on Thursday before the guilty pleas were presented before a judge.

“I feel relieved knowing that some of these women will be spared having to testify and relive what happened to them in a courtroom,” she wrote in a statement to CTV News. “No guilty plea can undo the harm that was done, but hearing those admissions matters.”

In videos watched by W5 and entered into evidence, Hayward can be seen injecting substances into some of his victims and applying drug-soaked cloths over their mouths. In several videos there is a telltale sign that helped identify Hayward: his left hand had been amputated.

W5 found that Hayward had a long criminal history spanning nearly two decades and several cities.

In addition to false ID charges and convictions for failing to attend court and breaching bail conditions, Hayward was convicted of theft under $5,000 in Hamilton in 2009; uttering forged documents and possessing ID documents in St. Catharines, Ont. in 2017; and fraud under $5,000 in Brantford, Ont. in 2018. He was also convicted of impaired driving in Cayuga, Ont. In 2024.

In 2020, Hayward was convicted on drug possession charges in Hamilton, and again in 2021, for making an explosive substance which W5 has learned likely resulted in the amputation of his left hand. Those charges were later withdrawn.

In July 2024, Hayward was charged with dangerous driving and criminal harassment stemming from an incident with an ex-girlfriend.

No date has been set for sentencing.

Hayward will be back in court in early September for a 17-day trial that will address several additional charges involving other alleged victims. He and a co-accused named Gilles Richard, also face charges including gang sexual assault charges. No date has been set for the trial yet.

In her statement, Davis added, “My thoughts are with the women whose cases are still before the court. The process is long, exhausting and often retraumatizing. I hope they know they are not alone and have support.”

“My hope is that the work Avery and W5 have done exposing these crimes, also sparks a broader conversation about the reality of drug-facilitated sexual violence in Canada. These crimes are happening in our communities, often at the hands of people victims know and trust,” she wrote.

If you or someone you know is struggling with sexual assault or trauma, the following resources are available to support people in crisis:

• Call 911 if you are in immediate danger or fear for your safety.
• The Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres' website has a comprehensive list of sexual assault centres in Canada that offer information, advocacy and counselling. 
• The Ending Violence Association of Canada‘s website has links to helplines, support services and locations across Canada that offer sexual assault kits.
• Indian Residential School Survivors Society crisis lines: [phone] or [phone] (24/7)
• Toronto Rape Crisis Centre crisis line: [phone] (24/7)
• Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline: [phone] (24/7)
• Trans Lifeline: [phone]
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: call or text 988 (24/7)
• Sexual Misconduct Support and Resource Centre for current and former Canadian Armed Forces members: [phone]
• Read about your rights as a victim on the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime website.