A man who faces a child pornography charge was arrested Tuesday on additional, related charges that he sexually assaulted a 6-year-old boy.
Paul Grimsley, 42, of no certain address, faces two counts of first-degree sexual assault and one of risk of injury to a minor, police said. Grimsley, who was arrested during an appearance at Hartford Superior Court, had been arrested earlier this month on a charge of first-degree possession of child pornography.
The charges include allegations that at least one of the victim’s parents had allowed Grimsley to sexually abuse the boy in return for payment. East Hartford police spokesman Lt. Joshua Litwin would only say that the investigation remains active.
On March 19, a social worker with the state Department of Children and Families told East Hartford police Detective Daniel Ortiz that a former client who wished to remain anonymous said Grimsley had confessed to molesting a 6-year-old local boy, the warrant says.
Investigators searched the home of the boy’s parents on March 20 and seized several cellphones, including one used primarily by Grimsley, the warrant says. A photo on the phone showed the boy performing oral sex, with a distinctive blue blanket in the background, the warrant says. That picture was among more than 250 images of child pornography retrieved from the phone, police said.
Police say they also found a text message thread between Grimsley and one of the boy’s parents.
“During their conversation, it was discussed that Grimsley would pay her $120 for not going to the police with the information about him sexually assaulting her son,” the warrant says.
The boy told an interviewer at the Klingberg Child Advocacy Center that Grimsely would come to the house to babysit him and his sister.
“The six-year-old victim stated that Grimsley was important to him, but Grimsley did ‘bad stuff’ and ‘I don’t want to tell it,'” the warrant said.
The boy went on to say that some time after Christmas, Grimsley performed oral sex on him inside the boy’s home and that Grimsley penetrated the boy with a finger and also pulled the boy’s pants down and took photographs and videos, the warrant says.
Grimsley had been convicted in 2008 for first-degree possession of child pornography and sentenced to 10 years in prison, police said. On March 21, police searched his home and seized cellphones, DVD movies and two pairs of female children’s underwear, a warrant says.
Grimsley denied owning the children’s underwear and said he could not remember how the underwear ended up at the bottom of his clothing bin, police aid. He also refused to answer any questions about allegations of child porn possession and alleged abuse of the 6-year-old boy, police said.
Courant staff writer David Owens contributed to this story.
Jesse Leavenworth can be reached at jleavenworth@courant.com.
