Rape sentence handed down for Seattle lawyer Danford Grant

SEATTLE — Once-successful Seattle attorney Danford Grant has been sentenced for raping five massage therapists.

Grant pleaded guilty to five counts of third-degree rape and one count of first-degree burglary in a plea deal May 7.

He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Four of his victims wrote letters to be read at the sentencing.

The owner of a massage business read a letter from an employee and victim.

“Since the attack I have become very suspicious of everything,” wrote one victim. “I had nightmares at night. I felt there was someone always hiding outside my bedroom.”

The victim wrote that she chose not to appear in court because in Chinese culture, it would cause her shame.

Another victim, a 47-year-old Chinese woman, wrote she had no family members in the U.S.  She worked in the massage business because of the language barrier and to support her family in China. She said she is unable to use small kitchen knives because it reminds her of the knife Grant held against her throat during the attack.

“If we had not called the police, he would still be coming at Asian women right now,” she wrote.

Another victim, a Thai woman, went through 660 hours of training to become a licensed massage practitioner. Her husband wrote that she was the sole proprietor of a small spa and never offered sex to customers.  Her husband said that after the rape, she was a changed woman and closed her business.

One of Grant's attorneys said Grant had a long history of emotional problems, citing alcoholism among them.

Grant read a statement he said he wrote himself because "he wanted to be real."

“I’m grateful to be alive to speak today and I want to use this opportunity to express that I was wrong,” he said.

He said he knows he should be punished and that prison was a just punishment.

“My regret and sadness about my behavior is real … what happened was an aberration,” he said.

Grant admitted to using sex to fight continuing depression and anxiety.

KIRO