On Thursday, February 20, 2025, a Schenectady County Jury convicted John Grier, a resident of Schenectady, born January 26, 1985, of four offenses due to his forcible sexual contact with a child. Mr. Grier was convicted of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree by forcible compulsion, a class D violent felony in violation of Section 130.65 (1) of the Penal Law, Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree, a class B misdemeanor in violation of Section 130.55 of the Penal Law, Forcible Touching, a class A misdemeanor in violation of Section 130.52 (1) of the Penal Law, and Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a class A misdemeanor in violation of Section 260.10 (1) of the Penal Law. Trial began on Monday, February 10, 2025, and the jury returned its verdict on Thursday February 20, following deliberations which lasted approximately eight-hours over two days.
Mr. Grier was convicted for forcibly fondling a 14-year-old female child, someone known to him. This sexual assault was committed on an evening in June of 2023, while Mr. Grier had the victim alone, in his car, in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant in the Town of Rotterdam. At trial, the victim testified, detailing to the jury what Mr. Grier had done to her. The investigation into this sexual assault began the night it occurred, when the victim and her family reported the crime to the Rotterdam Police Department. The case was then investigated by Detective Michelle Crandall. The victim was forensically interviewed at the Schenectady County Child Advocacy Center, which provides therapeutic and trauma-focused support to child victims of physical and sexual abuses.
After the verdict was rendered, Mr. Grier was remanded to the custody of the Schenectady County Sheriff's Office to await sentencing, which is scheduled to occur on May 2, 2025, in Schenectady County Court. As a result of Mr. Grier’s prior criminal history, which includes two other violent felony convictions, the District Attorney’s Office will request the Court to certify Mr. Grier as a mandatory persistent violent felon. Should the court so certify him, Mr. Grier faces an enhanced sentence of a minimum of 12 years to life in prison, and up to a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison. Additionally, upon his release from prison, Mr. Grier will be required to register as a sex offender. The People will seek a full order of protection for the child-victim and for a family member witness, for the maximum period allowed by law at sentencing.
District Attorney Robert M. Carney stated, “Eric Weinhold, a prosecutor working in our Special Victim Bureau, presented the jury a compelling case which included proof that this young victim immediately reported what this man did to her to her sister and other members of her family and then to authorities. Ultimately, he was convicted because she had the courage to tell her story to a jury of twelve who collectively believed what she told them.”
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Eric J. Weinhold, of the District Attorney’s Office’s Special Victims Unit. Mr. Grier was represented by attorneys Stacy Mix and Justin Quinn of Dreyer Boyajian LLP. Acting Schenectady County Court Judge Mark J. Caruso presided over the trial.