Eugene Grime

Eugene Grime Case

Monster Masquerades as Trusted Teacher

A psychologist characterizes Eugene Grime as a “prototypic Pedophile” who is sexually drawn to little boys. One of his victims calls Grime a monster. The Ohio Parole Board calls Grime rehabilitated and worthy of parole. He will be granted a release date in less than two weeks unless one of his victims, the prosecutor, and community opposition can convince the parole board members to reverse their egregious decision.

On October 2, 1984, Eugene Grime, a second grader teacher at Delta Elementary school, was arrested and charged with three counts of statutory rape involving multiple children. The arrest followed an investigation by the Delta police department and Fulton County Children’s Services. Two days later a grand jury filed a 17-count indictment involving sexual abuse crimes against at least 11 young children all under the age of 13.

One of Grime’s victims detailed his nightmare in a letter sent to The Ohio Parole Board. “The school year started like any other, fresh clear classroom, some familiar classmates, some new. Then it was finally my turn to be special, my turn to be important. Little did I know the monster I would meet. Not a monster in the terms of ‘roar’ and ‘grrrrrr’ but a nice, sweet, loving manipulative monster.”

In 2016 that same victim told Shaun Hegarty at 13abc Action News, “You’re in there. You’re not the helper, you’re his buddy. You’re playing. You’re having fun and you’re wrestling. Wrestling is tumbling around like you’re with your dad. Well it leads to a little more and you’re put into a position of ‘how do I react?’ and at 7 years old I didn’t know how to react,” he continued, “I think the thought [something was wrong and the wrestling went too far] was always there but it was this person loves me so much. He’s supposed to protect me and he says I can’t tell anybody. ‘Don’t tell anybody. You can’t tell anybody our secret.’ and it’s like I don’t want to hurt him. I don’t want to see him get in trouble.”

A Plea Deal Nets 50 Years

After his arrest Grime tried to get his bail lowered which was subsequently denied by Judge Richard McQuade Jr. who said “there is a strong possibility this defendant could abscond” based on the number and severity of the charges. As one would expect Grime was suspended from his teaching job after his arrest. Although Grime was in jail facing 10 rape charges involving 11 children, Grime had the audacity to request a review of his dismissal from the school which was postponed until after his trial.

Facing multiple witnesses and a horrific list of crimes Eugene Grime agreed to accept a plea agreement which prevented the children from having to testify in court. Grime admitted to all the charges however he pled guilty to two counts of rape of persons under 13 years of age. He was sentenced to two consecutive 7-25-year prison terms.

A Clear and Present Danger

In 2004, Grime was adjudicated a sexual predator, the most dangerous of all sex offender classifications. The sexual predator adjudication also meant he has a high risk to reoffended. Grime appealed this decision citing his good prison record, his counseling and therapy, and a standardized test that stated he had less than a 20% percent probability that he would reoffend.

A psychologist testified that the standardized test Grime cited does not take into account the fact he molested at least 11 children and the fact this activity lasted for between 3 and 7 years. According to the Grime’s appeal documents the psychologist testified the Grime’s attraction to young boys is a “” * * * deeply integrated component of his psyche that will not be eradicated, no matter what type of treatment he receives.” She stated Grime may be able to control is urges however they will always be with him. She concluded by stating it was “likely” that Grimes would reoffend. The three judges agreed and affirmed that Grime is a sexual predator.

In his sexual predator appeal Grime “argues that he has a nearly spotless record in his 19 years in prison,” and “that a standardized test designed to measure a sex offender’s probability to reoffend resulted in a less than a 20 percent probability that he would reoffend.” While we commend his behavior the fact is in a prison setting Grime is not allowed around children so he has no opportunity to reoffend. In addition, while we consider the 20% chance of reoffending a low estimate, based on his past crimes a 20% chance is far too high a percentage to justify releasing Grime back on the streets.

No Parole

The Ohio Parole Board’s decision to grant tentative parole to Eugene Grime is completely unacceptable. Grime used his position of trust as an elementary school teacher to molest at least 11 young children. We believe the number of victims is likely much higher as Grime’s sexual abuse of children occurred for at least 3-7 years. In addition, a psychologist, a judge, and an appeals court have made it clear that Grime has a high likelihood of molesting more children if he is put back on the streets. Grime received a huge break when he was given a plea deal requiring him to serve a maximum of 50 years in prison which equates to less than 5 years for each child victim he traumatized. That is the only break that should be given to Eugene Grime.

Releasing Eugene Grime before he has served his maximum sentence would be a complete injustice to Grime’s victims and would pose a serious risk to the community, especially young children. To further the interest of justice and to protect society we urge the Ohio Parole Board to reverse their decision to parole serial child molester Eugene Grime and keep him in prison for his maximum 50-year sentence.