Westminster Man Given Stiff Sentence For Child Pornography Offenses

He will also be placed on lifetime supervised release after he gets out of prison.

 

 

Baltimore, Md (KM) A long prison sentence awaits a Westminster man. On Friday, Eric Wayne Grinder, 36, was sentenced to 30-years in federal prison for the production and possession of child pornography. In U-S District Court in Baltimore, Judge Catherine Blake also placed Grinder on lifetime supervised release, and he must register as a sex offender.

Grinder was convicted on February 25th, 2019 on five counts of production of child pornography, one count of attempted production of child pornography, two counts of possession of child pornography and witness tampering.

The US Attorney’s Office for Maryland says from June, 2013 to August, 2016, Grinder sexually abused a girl when she was between the ages of seven and nine, and produced images of himself and the child engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Prosecutors also say Grinder used his laptop computer and cell phone to obtain and store images of sexual exploitation of prepubescent minors, including the victim.

Evidence presented at his trial in February stated that Grinder wrote a letter to a family member, asking that person to manipulate the victim so that she would say she took the explicit pictures, not Grinder. He also attempted to contact and manipulate the victim’s mother.

The case was brought about as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child exploitation and abuse.

 

By Kevin McManus