Law Firm Partner Charged with 6 Felonies in Serial Rape Case
A partner in a Seattle law firm being held in lieu of $3 million bail as a suspect in a serial sexual assault case is now facing three first-degree rape charges.
Three additional felony charges of second-degree rape, attempted second-degree rape and burglary were also filed Thursday against Danford D. “Dan” Grant, the Seattle Times reports. The newspaper provides a link to charging documents (PDF) in the King County criminal case, in which a which prosecutor says that Grant “is also under investigation for similar attacks and sexual assaults on other victims.”
The 47-year-old Bailey Grant Onsager partner is accused of sexually assaulting or attempting to sexually assault four women within a period of three months. All are reportedly Asian and employed as massage therapists, and only one speaks fluent English.
Grant’s lawyer, David Allen, said on Wednesday that his client “is innocent of these charges, until and unless the state can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt which [we] have great doubts that they can,” the Sammamish-Issaquah Patch reported.
KGW reported that Allen suggested at a Wednesday court hearing his client had been wrongly targeted for arrest:
“They were threatening to hurt him. He was glad when the police showed up. He thought it was a mistake,” Allen said.
Ordinarily, such crimes are investigated by the sexual assault unit of the Seattle police department. However, Grant’s case has been assigned to the vice and high-risk victims unit, the Seattle Times reports.
That is not because the investigation is targeting massage parlors at which several of the alleged crimes occurred but because the officers are accustomed to dealing with workers who may not speak English and are familiar with the culture at both legitimate businesses and those that are prostitution fronts, Lt. Ken Hicks said. However, “we are not investigating anyone involved in this scenario for prostitution. It’s not part of the case.”
An investigation is continuing, including tests of possible DNA evidence.
Additional coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “$3 Million Bail for Seattle Lawyer Suspected in 3 Rapes; Defense Lawyer Calls It a Misunderstanding”
KIRO: “More victims could come forward in Seattle attorney rape case”
Updated Oct. 1 to include a link to the charging documents.
