Attorney pleads not guilty to raping women at knifepoint
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SEATTLE -- A Seattle attorney charged with raping massage therapists in Seattle, Shoreline and Bellevue pleaded not guilty on Wednesday.
Danford D. Grant, 47, faces multiple charges of rape and attempted rape in attacks involving four women.
Grant was arrested Sept. 24 at the Carnation Massage Clinic in Greenwood. An employee told police Grant raped her at knife point about one month earlier, and returned and again tried to sexually assault her the day of his arrest.
Prosecutors said Grant also raped another woman at the same business in July.
After the arrest, a detective working the case was contacted by a Bellevue police detective who said a victim from Bellevue had positively identified Grant from a photo line up. In that case a man matching Grant's description raped a massage therapist at knife point on August 28.
Grant is also charged with raping a massage therapist at her home in Shoreline on August 19. The victim in that attack told police Grant came to her house to ask for a massage. When she said no, he allegedly forced his way inside, breaking the chain lock inside the door.
The woman said Grant then put his hands around her neck and covered her mouth so she couldn't scream, according to court documents. Grant allegedly said he just wanted a massage, but the victim said he forced her into a back room, where he raped her.
Grant is a litigation partner at the Seattle law firm Bailey Grant Onsager and previously worked with the civil division of the the Seattle City Attorney's Office.
He is being held in the King County Jail in lieu of $3 million bail.
Danford D. Grant, 47, faces multiple charges of rape and attempted rape in attacks involving four women.
Grant was arrested Sept. 24 at the Carnation Massage Clinic in Greenwood. An employee told police Grant raped her at knife point about one month earlier, and returned and again tried to sexually assault her the day of his arrest.
Prosecutors said Grant also raped another woman at the same business in July.
After the arrest, a detective working the case was contacted by a Bellevue police detective who said a victim from Bellevue had positively identified Grant from a photo line up. In that case a man matching Grant's description raped a massage therapist at knife point on August 28.
Grant is also charged with raping a massage therapist at her home in Shoreline on August 19. The victim in that attack told police Grant came to her house to ask for a massage. When she said no, he allegedly forced his way inside, breaking the chain lock inside the door.
The woman said Grant then put his hands around her neck and covered her mouth so she couldn't scream, according to court documents. Grant allegedly said he just wanted a massage, but the victim said he forced her into a back room, where he raped her.
Grant is a litigation partner at the Seattle law firm Bailey Grant Onsager and previously worked with the civil division of the the Seattle City Attorney's Office.
He is being held in the King County Jail in lieu of $3 million bail.
It is almost too bizarre... will wait and see.
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I'd like to know what these women are expecting to get from these claims. My insides are telling me that this one is not rape & they are looking for money. I am very against rape, of course but I think these women are up to something.
 @Gigi The Seattle Times story is much better. These were all Asian women he targeted, some of whom do not speak much English.
Rapists are scum. Men who rape are not men.
Mother's money for his education sure went down the drain on this one!
This freak was probably usurping his power, thinking he was above others being an attorney. He might've also thought that being an attorney would get him a free pass. Look at the loser though, ruining his life, his family's life, and the lives of those he raped. I hope this guy won't be able to buy his way out of prison and gets what he deserves (if proven guilty).
Massage therapists?Â
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Are you kidding me?
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Sounds to me like he preyed on prostitutes and was hoping that they wouldn't stand up for themselves. It also seems like he was getting away with it for quite some time too.Â
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Allegedly, of course....
 @caphillkid So? There are legit massage therapists - Licensed Massage Practitioners - that provide a helpful "medical" service. My understanding is that the places known as massage "parlors" tend to offer other "services"; massage "clinics" are usually quite law abiding.
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Which type of business was this guy patronizing?
Between Bowman and Grant pleading not guilty and i not sure who offends me most- a psychotic murderer or a scumbag rapist. Bowman's wife probably give him his hair gel but it looks like Ms. Grant isn't concerned any more about "keeping up appearances". I feel sorry for the Grant family.
 @kul Is Mrs. Grant not on Dan's side now? With their connections, you'd think she'd be able to come up with the bail money - unless she thinks he's guilty and doesn't want him out?
A lawyer should know better. May he get the same done to him in prison that he did to the women.
@Charl317 --- Say what? An adult should know better, regardless of his profession.Â
Local Media--The Seattle Times--said today:Â Grant, 47, entered his pleas before King County Superior Court Judge Mary Yu, who was assigned the case after Chief Criminal Judge Ronald Kessler and Assistant Chief Criminal Judge Theresa Doyle both disqualified themselves, though court records do not indicate why. Kessler or Doyle usually handle arraignments before cases are assigned to trial judges.
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http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2019392573_grant11m.html
@NESEAMom  The other judges probably were personally acquainted with this attorney (i.e., went to law school together, worked on cases together, both members of same country club, etc.)
 @NESEAMom Thanks for the link. The KOMO story is disjointed and lacking in details, after reading the story on the Seattle Times I am wondering why I even read here. I think it's just for the comments!
A bit of a background story.
http://mynorthwest.com/11/1310560/From-successful-Seattle-attorney-to-accused-serial-rapist
rapeford i have a little free legal advice for you.  ask the two dudes there from inked if they have a comb and a razor you could borrow and try not to look so much like a rapist.
Paragraph 4 needs help.
"Prosecutors said grant raped another woman woman was raped at the same business in July." ???
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@OlyVonKanSheet If they were trying to write a palindrome, they failed at that too...
KOMO and other news outlets have been dead silent - nary a peep - about this story since the arrest. If it were a school bus driver, an unemployed cook or a truck driver, KOMO would be ripping up floorboards daily to dig up any sensational tidbit from any source they could find and plastering it on television broadcasts and web stories. This article is classic journalism 101 - who what where when; nothing but facts. It does not go unnoticed how the abusive editorializing and pandering demagoguery that is the hallmark of KOMO's reporting of salacious events, actual or alleged, is so notably absent when the subject is someone who is either connected or could potentially hit back hard if they screw up.
@wysoumible Agree. Also, I find it curious that Mr. Grant worked at the same firm (Stafford Frey Cooper) as Anne Bremner, who tried in vain to block a DUI arrest and court documents from being released to the public in order to prevent her very public reputation from being tarnished. The 911 tapes are something else.
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Attorneys are NOT above the law and are deserving of the same news coverage when they break it. They are, after all, supposedly stewards of the justice system.
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@wysoumible I completely agree. Look at the silence about another 'sensitive' new story about three off duty Bellevue police officers who got tossed from the hawks game and then proceded to taunt and harass a Seattle officer to the point where they felt threatened enough to call for backup. Apart from a few teasers, the rest of the story has completely been ignored. What about some digging to who the rotten Bellevue police officers are? What about their duty records? Is there anything there showing a history of obnoxious and or questionable behavior? If this story involved any other individuals than police officers, there'd be plenty of information in the articles including names and pics, however because it involved a couple of tanked, off duty cops, they don't post a thing.
 @wysoumible Agreed.  No article I have read has said anything else about him.  Through my own investigation, I learned he is/was married.  Why not try to get a comment from his wife or any people he worked with.  Sure they may refuse, but why not try? Â
@sfvcyco @wysoumible - I live very near Dan Grant and there has been swarms of media - they've definitely been trying. His family will not speak to media at this time. They have 3 children - including two under the age of 8 - so I think they're just trying to keep things as normal as possible for their sakes.
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I hope for the sake of the women that they have the right guy - they shouldn't have to do their jobs in fear.
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Having said that, what kind of defense will he be able to give? That it was a simple misunderstanding over payment, and they got upset and chased him because they thought him owed them money?
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If by some chance the guy is innocent - and I don't think he is - his career is over.
 @Silvia He's got a lot more to worry about than his career being over.Â
 @sfvcyco True. I'm just saying that if he *was* innocent - and again, I don't think that he is - his career and the rest of his life would still be ruined....I really feel sorry for his wife and kids - they haven't done anything wrong, but they've really got to be hurting. There are so many victims in this case.
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Die pond scum. An attorney who's a violent serial rapist. It doesn't get much worse....and he looks like such a fruity nerd. Arm yourselves!